*

South Korea holds rates at 3.00%

*

Korean stocks at near 1-week high

*

Rupiah slips to 6-month low

(Updates at 0714 GMT)

By Sneha Kumar and Sameer Manekar

Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah stayed near

six-month lows on Thursday, while the South Korean won snapped a

three-day winning streak after both countries' central banks

shocked investors by eschewing widely anticipated interest rate

calls.

The rupiah slipped 0.4% to 16,385 per U.S. dollar, a

level not seen since early July last year and adding to a 0.3%

drop on Wednesday when Bank Indonesia (BI) unexpectedly slashed

interest rates by 25 basis points.

"The surprise decision to pivot back to rate cuts in the

face of FX pressures seems abrupt and incongruous with BI's

prioritisation of IDR stability over the past two years,"

Barclays' analysts said.

They expect the rupiah to test 16,500 by the end of the

quarter.

The South Korean won declined 0.1%, slipping from

a one-week high, after the Bank of Korea (BOK) held interest

rates, against expectations of a quarter-point cut.

The decision appears to be primarily of FX consideration,

said Frances Cheung, head of FX and rates strategy at OCBC.

"Nevertheless, Governor Rhee (Chang-yong) tried to keep the

market's rate-cut expectations alive and we see a 25 bps cut in

February as a high possibility."

The two decisions underscore the challenges Asian central

banks face as they try to spur growth and defend their

currencies against a towering dollar, while preparing for the

higher tariffs pledged by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

On the day, however, most Asian currencies found support as

the dollar retreated after cooling U.S. inflation data knocked

down bond yields and increased the likelihood of more than just

one Federal Reserve rate cut this year.

Still, "Investors are reluctant to price more Fed funds rate

cuts until the next cut materialises as uncertainty is high on

various fronts, including inflation and tariffs," said Cheung.

An index of emerging market currencies edged

higher, continuing its recovery from a six-month low earlier in

the week.

Among equities, while the won declined, stocks in Seoul

rose 1.2% to a nearly one-week high.

Singaporean equities rose 0.7%, its first gain in six

sessions, while stocks in the Philippines reversed

earlier gains to fall 1%.

Taiwanese stocks closed 2.3%. TSMC, the

world's largest contract chipmaker, ended 3.8% higher, ahead of

its quarterly results.

Elsewhere, the Israeli shekel rose to a one-month

high after the news of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and

Hamas.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Japan wholesale inflation steady near 4%, keeps alive BOJ

rate-hike chance

** Detained South Korea's Yoon will not attend questioning,

lawyer says

** Indonesia central bank says rupiah's weakness under

control

Asian stocks

and

currencies

at 0714 GMT

Japan +0.19 +0.65

0.33 -3.31

China 0.00 -0.44 0.32 -3.41

India -0.14 -1.00 0.37 -1.47

Indonesia -0.28 -1.65 1.10 1.10

Malaysia -0.02 -0.67 -0.16 -5.04

Philippines +0.22 -0.72 -1.03 -4.03

S.Korea -0.14 +1.07 1.23 5.33

Singapore -0.06 -0.18 0.72 0.32

Taiwan +0.40 -0.46 2.27 -0.04

Thailand +0.01 -0.80 0.00 -3.36