EMERGING MARKETS-Rupiah hits fresh low, Asian stocks fall on US-China trade war

April 9 (Reuters) - Indonesia's rupiah dropped to a new alltime low on Wednesday while equities in Asian emerging markets fell sharply as the U.S. readied to impose 104% tariffs on Chinese goods, escalating a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Stocks in Singapore .STI dropped as much as 2.6% to their lowest since late August last year, while those in Malaysia .KLSE fell to their weakest point in 18 months.

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 slipped 0.5%, while Taiwan's benchmark index .TWII fell 2% to a 14-month low. An MSCI gauge of Asian emerging market equities .MIMS00000PUS declined to its lowest in one year.

Indonesia's rupiah IDR= tumbled to 16,955 per U.S. dollar, while the country's benchmark index .JKSE rose more than 1% following sharp losses in the previous session.

The fifth session of carnage in regional stock markets came as U.S. President Donald Trump showed no indication he would back away from tariffs on China that he pushed even higher after Beijing announced countertariffs to his initial levies.

Many Southeast Asian countries have also been hit with hefty tariffs, and China is the region's biggest trading partner. The new U.S. levies go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (0401 GMT).

HIGHLIGHTS:

Singapore dollar firms to 1.3487 per U.S. dollar

Malaysia c.bank says economy diversified but U.S. tariffs will have impact

Taiwan rattled by 5.8 magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage