* Peso slides to record low of 61.266 per dollar

* US tech earnings to test artificial intelligence rally

* Bank of Thailand to keep policy rate unchanged -

Reuters poll

* Thai baht weakens to April 7 low

(Updates for afternoon trade)

By Rajasik Mukherjee

April 28 (Reuters) - Asian emerging market stocks pulled

back from record highs on Tuesday, as investors grew cautious

ahead of a slate of U.S. tech earnings that could test the

artificial intelligence-driven rally.

The MSCI EM Asia gauge fell 0.2%, while the

MSCI International EM declined 0.1%.

Signs of investor caution were also evident in currency

markets, with the MSCI gauge of global EM currencies

falling 0.3%.

The Philippine peso depreciated nearly 1%, breaching

the 61-per-dollar mark for the first time to hit a record low of

61.266 and logging its worst day since September 2025.

The currency has fallen nearly 4% so far in 2026, making it

the worst performer in the region after the Indian rupee

, which has fallen nearly 5% so far this year.

Geopolitical risks lingered after a U.S. official said

President Donald Trump was unhappy with the latest Iranian

proposal, dampening hopes of a swift resolution to the Middle

East conflict, which has disrupted energy supplies and stoked

global inflation concerns, especially in oil-dependent emerging

markets.

"Upside pressure (on dollar/peso) to continue for now, given

the ongoing lack of clarity regarding the Iran war peace talks

progress," Maybank analysts wrote in a note.

"Even so, there looks to be no rapid climb up for now, given

the Iran war situation remains immensely uncertain."

On the stocks front, the retreat reflects caution ahead of

earnings from major U.S. technology firms, including Microsoft ( MSFT )

, Alphabet, Amazon ( AMZN ), Meta and

Apple ( AAPL ), this week.

"Strong tech earnings could reinforce the AI-led risk rally

and help lift Asian equities back toward recent highs, but any

disappointment may trigger a sharper valuation reset given how

much optimism is already priced in," said Glenn Yin, director of

research at brokerage ACCM.

In East Asia, Taiwanese stocks, a key beneficiary of

the AI-led rally over the past year, traded lower after scaling

an all-time high in the previous session.

Elsewhere, South Korea's KOSPI surged 1% to a record

of 6,712.73 points, led by gains in automakers and steel

manufacturers.

Stocks in Jakarta fell as much as 0.9% to their

lowest since April 7, on track for their seventh consecutive

session of declines.

Philippine stocks shed nearly 1% to drift to their

weakest level since March 31. The index was also set to log its

fifth consecutive session of losses.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Thai baht shed

0.6%, hitting its lowest since April 7, a day ahead of the

central bank's policy decision where no change in rates is

expected.

The Indonesian rupiah and the Taiwan dollar

shed 0.3% each. The Malaysian ringgit and the Singapore

dollar traded flat.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Suspect in Washington dinner shooting charged with trying to

assassinate Trump

** Thai finance ministry cuts 2026 growth forecast to 1.6% due

to Middle East war

** Indian bonds seen under pressure as US-Iran peace talks stall

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0737 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

% % DAILY YTD %

%

Japan -0.01 -1.74 -1.02 19.03

China India -0.38 -4.94 -0.23 -8.00

Indonesia -0.17 -3.17 -0.77 -18.45

Malaysia +0.00 +2.68 0.27 2.48

Philippin -0.84 -3.95 -0.58 -3.08

es

S.Korea Singapore -0.13 +0.75 -0.14 5.16

Taiwan -0.17 -0.26 -0.24 36.45

Thailand -0.58 -3.26 -0.39 16.96

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; editing by

Harikrishnan Nair and Mrigank Dhaniwala)