*

Taiwan shares fall 1.2%

*

Indonesia stocks reverse course to fall 1.5%

*

Markets await Bank of Thailand meeting

By Rishav Chatterjee

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian equities eased on Wednesday, with

stocks in Singapore and Taiwan slipping from record highs, as renewed strength

in the U.S. dollar and concerns over economic growth turned investors cautious.

The MSCI gauge of equities in emerging Asia fell 1.2% from a

more than four-year peak scaled in the previous session. A subset of ASEAN

equities, dominated by Singapore, snapped a five-session rally.

Singapore's FTSE Straits Times index slipped 0.6% from a record high,

snapping a seven-day winning streak, while Taiwan's benchmark equity gauge

also fell off a lifetime high scaled on Tuesday. TSMC, the

world's largest contract chipmaker, fell up to 2%.

Equities climbed to multi-year highs driven by enthusiasm for artificial

intelligence and strong momentum in chip and tech stocks. Still, the rally came

to an abrupt halt as a prolonged U.S. government shutdown and lack of fresh

economic data stoked risk aversion.

"Cautious sentiment in U.S. and European equity markets has weighed on

emerging Asian stocks," Krung Thai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool

said.

"The recent pullback in AI and semiconductor shares in those regions likely

contributed to the underperformance in Taiwan and, to some extent, Singapore."

Meanwhile, financial markets in China and South Korea were closed for a long

holiday.

Wall Street closed lower as the U.S. government shutdown halted key data

releases, leaving investors with fewer cues on the path of monetary easing.

Political turbulence in France and Japan also weighed on global risk sentiment.

Stocks in Bangkok added 0.7% to touch their highest since early

February, ahead of a policy decision by the Bank of Thailand.

Investors broadly expect a 25-basis-point cut by the central bank to

strengthen Southeast Asia's second-largest economy as a strong currency

continues to weigh on exports and tourism, a Reuters poll showed.

"A stronger baht has also necessitated a market-based response, which could

come in the form of a rate cut," said Rohit Garg, head of EM Asia rates and FX

strategy at Citi.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's benchmark opened higher to touch a record but

quickly lost momentum to slide as much as 1.5%. Top banks in the country lost up

to 2%.

The Philippine stocks bucked the broader trend to rise 0.9%, scaling

their highest since September 24.

Currency trading in emerging Asia was tepid, with the Indonesian rupiah

losing 0.4%, as the U.S. dollar index touched a more than

two-month high against a basket of major currencies.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Vietnam stocks rise in early trade after market upgrade announcement

** Thailand unveils new stimulus, says aiming for growth of more than 2.2%

this year

** Indonesia 10-year benchmark ticks lower by 6.5 basis points

Asia stock indexes

and currencies at

0443 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

% DAILY YTD %

%

Japan -0.30 +3.16 #VALUE #VALUE

! !

China India -0.00 -3.56 0.25 6.45

Indonesi -0.36 -3.04 -0.45 14.87

a

Malaysia -0.12 +5.95 -0.35 -1.09

Philippi +0.05 +0.08 0.67 -6.19

nes

S.Korea Singapor -0.19 +5.41 -0.50 17.48

e

Taiwan +0.03 +7.44 -0.44 17.61

Thailand +0.06 +5.70 0.12 -6.67