* Philippine peso hits lowest level since March 31

* Indonesian rupiah faces worst week since early March

* Taiwan stocks hit record high

* Most stock markets set for weekly gains

(Updates for afternoon trade)

By Rajasik Mukherjee

April 24 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were set for

weekly losses on Friday, with the Philippine peso drifting to

its lowest level in nearly four weeks and the Indonesian rupiah

hovering near a record low, as stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks

underpinned the dollar.

Most stock markets in the region were headed for weekly

gains after U.S. President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire

with Iran indefinitely, though stalled talks and the fragility

of the truce kept investor optimism in check.

The MSCI gauge of EM Asia stocks inched

higher and was on course for a third consecutive weekly rise. An

MSCI gauge of global EM currencies inched lower

and was anchored near its lowest since April 13.

The Philippine peso weakened 0.5% to 60.755 per

dollar, its lowest since late March. The currency has lost

nearly 2% so far this week, its worst performance in seven

weeks.

The Philippine central bank raised its policy rate to 4.50%

on Thursday to tame inflation. On Friday, the central bank said

it was prepared to do "whatever was necessary" to contain

inflation, leaving the door open to more interest rate hikes.

In Indonesia, the rupiah firmed slightly before

paring gains, trading around 17,290 per dollar, not far from the

record low of 17,320 touched on Thursday.

The rupiah has fallen around 0.6% this week, heading for its

third consecutive week of losses and its worst since March 6.

"I think currencies among the most heavily oil

import-dependent economies should continue to remain vulnerable

- the likes of INR, IDR, PHP and THB, as we saw in the early

days of the Iran conflict," Galvin Chia, Asia EM strategist at

Societe Generale, said.

"Among these, the first three twin deficit economies should

screen relatively more vulnerable."

Elsewhere, the Malaysian ringgit shed 0.3% to its

lowest since April 13 and on course for its worst week since

March 23. The Thai baht slipped to 32.555 per dollar,

its lowest since April 7, and was on track for the steepest

weekly fall since March 16.

Among equities, Jakarta led declines, falling 3.5%

to hit the lowest since April 8. The index has shed more than

5.5% this week, and is on track for its worst showing since

early March.

Stocks in Kuala Lumpur were largely unchanged on

Friday but have risen by more than 1.5% so far this week. The

index was on course for its best week since January 12.

The KOSPI index traded flat but was on track for its

third consecutive week of gains, riding on momentum in

artificial intelligence.

Taiwan equities surged over 3% to notch a fresh

record high of 38,989.94 points.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Fitch says no immediate downgrade if Indonesia's deficit

tops 3% due to the Iran war impact

** Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire as Trump seeks 'best

deal' with Iran

** Japan's core inflation stays below BOJ target, energy

risks grow

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0739 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

DAILY % % DAILY YTD %

%

Japan +0.04 -1.87 China >

India -0.16 -4.65 Indonesia +0.47 -3.08 Malaysia -0.05 +2.37 Philippin -0.47 -3.16 -0.67 -1.81

es

S.Korea >

Singapore +0.03 +0.63 -0.15 6.25

Taiwan +0.21 -0.23 Thailand -0.06 -3.11 (Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by

Subhranshu Sahu and Mrigank Dhaniwala)