*

Philippine peso leads decline, drops 0.5% to week low

*

Trump threatens to fire Fed's Cook; dollar index rises

0.2%

*

Asian tech stocks climb ahead of Nvidia ( NVDA ) results

By Roushni Nair

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Asian currencies slipped on

Wednesday, as the dollar made a tentative rebound with concerns

over the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence, while equities

traded cautiously ahead of Nvidia ( NVDA ) earnings, seen as a key

indicator of the AI-driven rally.

The Philippine peso led the pack lower to retreat

0.5% to a one-week low of 57.166 per U.S. dollar, on track to

mark its third consecutive session of losses. The Indonesian

rupiah, the Malaysian ringgit and Thailand's baht

followed suit to fall 0.3% each.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency

against six major peers, rose 0.2% to 98.44, recovering from a

0.24% decline in the previous session.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would fire

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage

improprieties, though Cook's lawyer said she will challenge the

move in court.

The dollar had initially weakened after the development as

investors lost confidence in the greenback following the

president's push for greater influence over monetary policy.

The key risk is that concerns over Fed independence could

lead to uncertainty around inflation and the Fed's policy

credibility, said Lloyd Chan, FX strategist at MUFG.

"This may fuel increased volatility in U.S. interest rate

expectations and the U.S. dollar, amplifying currency

fluctuations across the Asia region, particularly for economies

with high external vulnerabilities or high foreign portfolio

exposure."

Despite Trump's Fed gambit dominating headlines, traders are

bracing for this week's critical catalysts: Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings

and the U.S. inflation data on Friday.

Asian technology stocks rose broadly in lacklustre trade

ahead of Nvidia Corp's ( NVDA ) second-quarter results, as

investors looked to the chipmaker's demand outlook for clues

about whether the global tech rally since April can continue.

The U.S. chipmaker will report after the bell on Wednesday.

Chinese AI linchpin Cambricon Technologies Corp

rose as much as 8.2% to its highest point following a record

profit. Shares of Nikon Corp ( NINOF ) added 21% in Japan and

chipmaker Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) rose 0.6% in South

Korea.

Shares in Taiwan climbed as much as 1% to a one-week

high, while those in South Korea were flat. Equities in

the Philippines added 1.4% and shares in Indonesia

and Singapore advanced 0.2% each, respectively.

Looking ahead, the Bank of Korea and Bangko Sentral ng

Pilipinas are due to announce rate decisions on Thursday.

Economists expect South Korea to hold rates steady while the

Philippines is poised to cut by 25 basis points, according to

economists polled by Reuters.

Bank Indonesia surprised markets last week with a 25-bp rate

cut, while Thailand's monetary policy should remain

accommodative as the economy will face multiple headwinds ahead,

the minutes of the central bank's August 13 policy meeting

showed.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** China's commerce minister met Saudi Arabia investment

minister in Beijing

** Taiwan to name former TSMC board member as new economy

minister

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COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK

DAILY YTD X S S YTD

% % DAILY %

%

Japan -0.35 +6.2 China 0 EC>

India +0.00 -2.3 Indones -0.37 -1.5 Malaysi -0.28 +5.7 Philipp -0.46 +1.5 S.Korea 4 11>

Singapo -0.22 +6.0 Taiwan -0.02 +7.2 Thailan -0.29 +5.4 4