*

S.Korean won and Indian rupee hold steady

*

Economists divided on Bank Indonesia's potential rate call

*

Jakarta stocks set to snap six-day winning streak

By Rishav Chatterjee

July 15 (Reuters) - Currencies and equities in emerging

Asia traded in a tight range on Tuesday, as investors remained

cautious over tariff developments and assessed Chinese economic

data pointing to underlying weakness in the region's biggest

economy.

Indonesia's rupiah slipped to a near three-week low,

while equities pared early gains to trade slightly up.

The Malaysian ringgit, the Philippine peso, Singapore's

dollar and Taiwan's dollar also edged lower.

South Korea's won and the Indian rupee

held steady near their previous session's close.

Asian currencies were in a tentative mood on Tuesday, said

Jeff Ng, head of Asia macro strategy, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking

Corp, adding that investors were awaiting further clarity on

trade tariffs.

China reported second-quarter economic growth that beat

market estimates but fell short of the prior quarter's pace.

While the economy has so far avoided a sharp slowdown, markets

are bracing for a weaker second half as U.S. tariffs weigh on

exports.

One of the key focal points during trade talks between the

United States and trade partners have been levies on

trans-shipments as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to curb

China's trade penetration in the region.

"We think (China's) exports could slow visibly in H2, likely

to close to zero in H2, especially if other countries start

cracking down on transshipments under U.S. pressure," Barclays

analysts led by Yingke Zhou said in a client note.

The Shanghai Composite index fell 1% to a one-week

low, while the blue-chip CSI300 Index shed early gain

to slip 0.5%. The Chinese yuan drifted lower against

the U.S. dollar.

Equity markets in emerging Asia were mixed: Singapore's

stocks extended their recent rally, nudging higher to set

an all-time high for the tenth consecutive day.

Stock markets in Indonesia and Thailand

edged higher, while those in Malaysia and the

Philippines slipped 0.4% each.

In Indonesia, analysts are divided ahead of Bank Indonesia's

interest rate decision on Wednesday. A Reuters poll showed 15 of

29 economics expect the central bank to cut its key borrowing

rate by 25 basis points.

In East Asia, Taiwan's benchmark index, dominated by

semiconductor firms, rose 0.6% to recoup losses from Monday,

while South Korea's KOSPI slipped lower.

An MSCI index of equities in emerging Asia

ticked higher.

Asian stock markets have rebounded sharply from their April

slump, reaching multi-week highs as investors bet that the worst

tariff scenarios are unlikely to materialize and that the duties

won't trigger a U.S. recession or severely impact corporate

earnings.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Thai minister to propose Vitai Ratanakorn as next central

bank chief

** Data centre NTT DC REIT makes tepid debut after

Singapore's biggest IPO in 4 years

Asian

stocks

and

currenci

es as of

0409 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

DAILY YTD % DAILY YTD %

% %

Japan +0.04 +6.46 0.00 0.38

China India +0.07 -0.36 0.23 6.32

Indonesi -0.28 -1.20 0.15 0.39

a

Malaysia -0.05 +5.08 -0.27 -6.64

Philippi -0.20 +2.27 -0.36 -0.42

nes

S.Korea Singapor -0.04 +6.48 0.12 8.62

e

Taiwan -0.10 +11.7 0.82 -1.01

9

Thailand -0.15 +5.57 0.23 -18.16