*

South Korean won, Taiwan dollar lead gains

*

Taiwan stocks hit record high

*

China industrial profits rise

By Archishma Iyer

May 27 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies and stocks

started the week on a positive note, with the South Korean won

and the Taiwan dollar leading gains, while investors awaited

further cues on global interest rate outlooks.

Markets in the United States and United Kingdom were closed

because of a public holiday.

Friday's U.S. personal consumption expenditures reading will

be crucial for investors, which will give them an idea of

whether the Federal Reserve will be in a position to lower

borrowing costs.

So far, most Asian central banks have maintained cautious

stances, waiting for the U.S central bank to make its first

move, thought it seems unlikely that the Fed will cut rates

anytime soon.

Traders are pricing in 50% chance of a rate cut in September

with markets anticipating 33 basis points of cuts this year.

Last week, central banks in Indonesia and South Korea kept

policy rates unchanged.

"Assuming the U.S. may not act anytime soon, then Europe

will probably act first, I think for a lot of central banks

especially in Asia, capital outflows can be a problem if the

yield differentials remain wide," Gary Ng, a senior economist

from Natixis said.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the

greenback against six major rivals, was marginally lower at

104.70 at 0355 GMT.

"Since USD outperformance is likely to resume, the relief on

EM FX may only be temporary. Amid this flux, central banks in

the region remain in a wait-and-see mode, keeping policy rates

unchanged," Barclays analysts wrote.

In Asia, the South Korean won and the Taiwan

dollar were the top gainers for the day, rising about

0.3% and 0.2%.

Other currencies such as the Malaysian ringgit,

Philippine peso, Thailand baht and the Singapore

dollar traded between flat and 0.2% higher.

The Indonesian rupiah, however, emerged as the sole

outlier, dropping around 0.4%.

Among Asian stocks, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore

and Seoul rose between 0.1% and 0.6%, while those in

Manila and Jakarta slipped 0.7% and 0.1%,

respectively.

Taipei stocks hit a record high, rising as much as

1.4% to 21,871.34 points, after a rally in

artificial-intelligence-related stocks in the United States

spearheaded by chip giant Nvidia ( NVDA ). The stock index is

currently up 21.7% on a year-to-date basis, emerging as the best

performer in Asia Pacific.

In China, official data showed industrial profits in Asia's

largest economy in the first four months of 2024 rose 4.3% from

the same period last year.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Indonesia's benchmark 10-year bond yield rises to 6.900%

** Japan, at G7 meet, renews push to keep yen bears in check

** S.Korea system to detect short-selling to be ready Q1

2025, watchdog says

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0355 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX YTD INDEX STOCK STOCK

DAILY % S S YTD

% DAILY %

%

Japan +0.19 -9.98 0.21 15.74

China -0.02 -2.03 0.37 4.21

India -0.02 +0.11 0.36 6.02

Indonesia -0.40 -4.11 -0.05 -0.74

Malaysia +0.15 -2.40 0.06 11.40

Philippines +0.17 -4.63 -0.66 1.95

S.Korea +0.30 -5.67 0.61 1.84

Singapore +0.01 -2.24 0.10 2.46

Taiwan +0.24 -4.50 1.15 21.65

Thailand +0.10 -6.65 0.02 -3.60