*

Thailand, Indonesia, Philippine rate decisions due

Wednesday

*

Philippine stocks up 1.5%, peso hits more than 2-month low

*

Baht down 0.6%, ringgit hits over 4-week low

By Rajasik Mukherjee and Roushni Nair

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Asian currencies faltered on Tuesday,

with the Thai baht and Philippine peso leading the decline, as

the U.S. dollar held firm near a two-month peak and investors

grew cautious ahead of a slew of key monetary policy decisions

due later this week.

The baht shed as much as 0.6%, as of 0341 GMT, and

was on track for its worst session since Oct. 7. The peso

slid 0.3% to hit a more than two-month low, while Malaysia's

ringgit weakened as much as 0.3% to touch its lowest

since Sept. 13.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against

a basket of six major currencies, hovered just below Monday's

peak of 103.36, the highest since Aug. 8, as expectation that

the Federal Reserve will implement only modest interest rate

cuts in the coming months grew further.

However, Philip Wee, a senior FX Strategist at DBS, said the

greenback's appeal should wane from improving risk appetite.

Investors in the region waited for monetary policy decisions

on Wednesday from central banks in Thailand, the Philippines,

and Indonesia.

"We expect further easing over the coming quarters from BI

(Bank Indonesia), but the pace and extent of this may be

tempered by occasional bouts of IDR weakness," analysts at ING

said in a note, adding that market concerns over the country's

budget and spending plans might lead to further volatility.

The Indonesian central bank is widely expected to keep rates

unchanged on Wednesday, a Reuters poll found.

The rupiah traded flat on Wednesday, while stocks in

Southeast Asia's largest economy rose 0.6%, hitting

their highest since Oct. 2 and heading for a third consecutive

session of gains.

The Philippine central bank, which lowered its interest rate

in August for the first time in nearly four years, is expected

to deliver two more cuts this quarter, a Reuters poll showed.

"The central bank cut rates by 25 bps back in August,

front-running the Fed. And despite the PHP's recent weakness, it

is forecast to cut again in October by 25 bps, matching the

Fed's easing overall so far," ING analysts said.

Analysts at Maybank expect the Bank of Thailand to maintain

a status quo "given the adamancy of the governor to continue to

state that policy settings are neutral."

Among Asian stock markets, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur

traded flat, while Seoul inched up 0.3% and

Manila added 1.5%.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** China stocks slip as investors wait on fiscal spending

** Israel strikes north Lebanon town, UN expresses concern

about peacekeepers

Asian

currenc

ies and

stocks

at 0419

GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCK STOCK

DAILY YTD % S S YTD

% DAILY %

%

Japan +0.03 -5.77 1.32 19.9

China India -0.01 -1.03 0.20 15.86

Indones -0.03 -1.06 0.63 4.60

ia

Malaysi -0.30 +6.64 0.17 12.70

a

Philipp -0.32 -3.92 1.47 15.26

ines

S.Korea Singapo -0.14 +0.69 0.36 11.38

re

Taiwan -0.04 -4.50 1.40 29.93

Thailan -0.81 +2.26 0.35 4.19

d

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee & Roushni Nair in Bengaluru;

Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)