EMERGING MARKETS-Asian currencies shine as Trump talks of likely Sino-US trade pact

Updates at 0634

By Sherin Sunny and Sameer Manekar

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Currencies in emerging Asian markets jumped on Friday, with the ringgit, baht and rupiah touching multi-week highs after U.S. President Donald Trump talked of a trade deal, rather than a trade war, with China.

The MSCI gauge of emerging market currencies .MIEM00000CUS rose 0.4% to its highest in seven weeks, while a gauge of emerging Asian equities .MIMS00000PUS was up 0.1%, easing from a 1% jump to a more-than-two-week high earlier in the day.

Trump told Fox News that his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week was friendly and he thought he could reach a trade deal with China.

Investors have been on edge since Trump threatened to impose major tariffs on China, but his latest comments hinted at a softer stance, triggering a rush to sell the dollar and lifting risk-sensitive assets in emerging markets.

The dollar index =USD fell broadly, headed for its worst weekly fall in five months, following Trump's comments on China and his demands that the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, which is also a net positive for emerging markets.

Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank, said he expects Asian currencies to strengthen further in the short term but cautioned that the tariff risk was not over.

Wei Liang Chang, an FX and Credit strategist at DBS Bank, echoed the sentiment, saying, "We are not discounting the fact that tariffs could still be imposed ... but perhaps at a more calibrated pace."

China's yuan CNY=CFXS surged to a 2-month high against the dollar, while stocks .SSEC, .CSI300 gained around 1.6%.

Malaysia's ringgit MYR= continued to surge, rising 1.4% to its highest since early November, while Indonesia's rupiah IDR= appreciated 0.7% to a two-week high.

The Philippine peso PHP= rose 0.5%, while the Thai baht THB=TH advanced by 0.9% to its highest since early December.

Singapore's dollar SGD= strengthened 0.6% to its best level since mid-December as the city-state's central bank loosened its monetary policy for the first time in five years.

In east Asia, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Equities in emerging Asian markets were largely mixed.

Stocks in Malaysia .KLSE, Indonesia .JKSE and the Philippines .PSI lost between 0.2% and 0.8%.

Equities in Singapore .STI were flat, while those in Thailand .SETI edged higher.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Philippines raises $3.3 bln through sale of U.S. and euro bonds

** Yen gains, bond yields rise after BOJ hikes rates

** Taiwan equity markets closed for a local holiday