* Philippine peso hits lowest level since March 31

* Indonesian rupiah faces worst week since early March

* Taiwan stocks just shy of record high

* Most stock markets set for weekly gains

By Rajasik Mukherjee

April 24 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were set on

Friday for weekly losses, with the Philippine peso slipping to

its weakest level in nearly four weeks and the Indonesian rupiah

hovering near its record low, as stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks

supported the dollar.

Most stock markets in emerging Asia were headed for weekly

gains after U.S. President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire

with Iran indefinitely, but stalled talks and the fragile truce

gave investors little to cheer.

The MSCI gauge of EM Asia stocks inched

higher on the day and was set for a third consecutive weekly

gain. An MSCI gauge of global EM currencies

inched lower to its lowest since April 13.

The Philippine peso weakened 0.5% to 60.755 per

dollar, its lowest since late March. The currency has lost

nearly 2% so far this week, facing its worst week in seven.

The Philippine central bank (BSP) raised its policy rate to

4.50% on Thursday to tame inflation.

"The (BSP) signalled for further rate hikes to counter

inflation, this won't provide much support for the PHP, amid the

Middle East conflict, oil price shock, and markets expecting the

Fed to keep rates high for longer," MUFG analysts said in a

note. "These factors need to turn for PHP to regain strength."

In Indonesia, the rupiah firmed slightly before

paring the gains, trading around 17,290 per dollar, not far from

the record low of 17,320 touched on Thursday.

The rupiah has fallen around 0.6% this week, heading for its

third consecutive week of losses and its worst since the week

ended March 6.

Elsewhere, the Malaysian ringgit shed 0.3% to its

lowest level since April 13. It was also tracking its worst week

since March 23, having lost 0.5% so far.

The Thai baht slipped to 32.555 per dollar, its

lowest level since April 7, and was poised for its worst week

since March 16.

Among equities, those in Indonesia led declines,

falling 2.4% to hit their lowest since April 9. The index has

shed more than 5.5% this week, on track for its worst week since

March 9.

Thai stocks fell 1.3% on the day, while stocks in

Manila traded flat.

Stocks in Kuala Lumpur were largely unchanged on

Friday but have risen by more than 1.5% so far this week. The

index was on course for its best week since January 12.

The KOSPI index inched higher to a record high

before erasing gains to trade 0.7% lower.

The index was on track for its third consecutive week of

gains, riding on momentum in artificial intelligence.

Taiwan equities, on the other hand, doubled down on

their early gains to hover around record highs. For the week,

the benchmark index has risen over 5%, setting up its third

consecutive week of gains.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Fitch says no immediate downgrade if Indonesia's deficit

tops 3% due to Iran war impact

** Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire as Trump seeks 'best

deal' with Iran

** Japan's core inflation stays below BOJ target, energy

risks grow

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0435 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

% % DAILY YTD %

%

Japan -0.01 -1.93 0.69 18.29

China India -0.16 -4.66 -0.86 -8.28

Indonesia +0.00 -3.53 -2.99 -17.22

Malaysia -0.18 +2.24 0.05 2.53

Philippin -0.47 -3.17 -0.16 -1.30

es

S.Korea Singapore -0.03 +0.56 -0.65 5.72

Taiwan +0.19 -0.24 2.69 33.72

Thailand -0.15 -3.20 -1.22 14.59

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by

Subhranshu Sahu)