*

Taiwan stocks up as much as 2%, buoyed by TSMC

*

Singapore upgrades growth outlook for 2024

*

Malaysia Oct inflation beats forecast

By Roshan Thomas

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Equity benchmarks in Taiwan and South Korea advanced more than 1%

on Friday as investors cheered Nvidia's ( NVDA ) solid earnings, while ongoing strength in

the dollar put downward pressure on major Asian emerging market currencies.

Stocks in Taipei gained as much as 2% to clock their best day since mid-October,

helped by a 3.5% gain in the shares of the world's biggest contract chipmaker and Nvidia ( NVDA )

supplier, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ( TSM )

In South Korea, the KOSPI added up to 1.2% on the back of chipmaker SK Hynix ( HXSCF )

, which soared nearly 5% after announcing a share buy-back plan.

An MSCI gauge of Asian emerging market equities, in which TSMC holds a

12.4% weighting, was up 0.3% as of 0423 GMT.

"Overnight, market participants had reassessed initial jitters over Nvidia's ( NVDA ) sales

forecast and seemingly took comfort with the broader picture that still highlights robust

demand for AI-related products and solutions," Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG,

said.

In Singapore, the dollar was up 0.1% while stocks edged higher. The country

upgraded its economic outlook for 2024 as third-quarter growth beat expectations and initial

estimates.

"The Singapore dollar remains largely driven by broad movements in the U.S. dollar. So

despite the strong performance in the economy, it hasn't benefited the currency," said Khoon

Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ.

The currency is down 1.9% so far this year, having lost around 5% since October in line

with a resurgence in the greenback.

In Malaysia, the ringgit and stocks were unfazed after data showed October

inflation rose at a slightly faster pace than expected.

"Inflation is fairly well contained in Malaysia. So we do not expect there to be any

immediate implications for the currency or on monetary policy," Goh said.

Globally, markets remain on tenterhooks due to the risk of further escalation in

Russia-Ukraine conflict after Russia lowered its threshold for using nuclear weapons and

fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian city.

In India, the Nifty 50 index was up 0.7%, led by a rebound in financials, while

most Adani group stocks extended losses into a second day after billionaire Gautam Adani was

indicted by U.S. prosecutors for alleged bribery and fraud.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Malaysia's October CPI rises 1.9% y/y, slightly above forecast

** British companies to invest $8.5 billion in Indonesia's energy transition, president

says

** Singapore official says economic growth could exceed 3.5% in 2024

Asia stock

indexes and

currencies

as of 0423

GMT

COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

RIC DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD %

Japan +0.12 -8.59 0.90 14.65

China -0.06 -2.05 -0.99 12.17

India +0.01 -1.52 0.69 8.19

Indonesia +0.08 -3.22 0.81 -1.02

Malaysia -0.11 +2.80 0.17 9.40

Philippines +0.20 -5.85 -0.92 5.42

S.Korea +0.14 -8.00 0.96 -5.68

Singapore +0.07 -1.95 0.06 15.47

Taiwan -0.02 -5.58 1.86 28.13

Thailand -0.12 -1.68 -0.09 1.65