EMERGING MARKETS-Asian stocks, currencies surge on Powell's dovish Fed signals

By Roushni Nair

Aug 25 (Reuters) - Most Asian stocks and currencies surged on Monday, with the Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit leading gains, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish Jackson Hole signals last week boosted appetite for riskier regional assets.

The ringgit MYR= jumped 0.6% to 4.20 per dollar, its biggest intraday gain in three weeks, while the rupiah IDR= climbed 0.5% to a one-week high. The Taiwan dollar TWD=TP added 0.6% and the Indian rupee INR= strengthened 0.2%.

Among regional equities, Taipei's benchmark .TWII led the rally, surging 2.5% to a one-week high. Jakarta .JKSE and Seoul .KS11 each gained over 1%, while Bangkok .SETI advanced 0.7%.

The Taiwan and South Korea benchmark indices were further boosted by local semiconductor stocks after reports that U.S. chip giant Nvidia NVDA.O had halted production of its China-focused H20 AI processors, potentially benefiting regional competitors.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was little changed but remained near Friday's low of 101.7425, a level not seen since July 28. USD/

Ray Sharma-Ong, Aberdeen Investments' Southeast Asia multi-asset chief, said the firm favors high-yielding regional currencies, such as the rupee, as Fed cuts weaken the dollar and Asian central banks stay put, maintaining attractive yield spreads.

Looking ahead, the Bank of Korea (BOK)and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announce rate decisions on Thursday, with BSP expected to cut rates 25 basis points, while BOK is seen holding steady, according to DBS.

Bank Indonesia surprised markets last week with a 25-basis point rate cut and signaled more easing ahead.

"In Asia-ex Japan, we see better risk-reward in laggard ASEAN-4 markets tactically where Fed rate cuts should provide greater support for ASEAN-4 Central Banks to embark on their growth supportive rate cuts," analysts at Nomura said in a note.

ASEAN-4 refers to the four largest economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Among other currencies, the South Korean won KRW=, the Singapore dollar SGD=, and Thai baht THB=TH lost 0.1%, respectively.

The MSCI gauge of emerging market currencies .MIEM00000CUS added 0.3%, while a gauge of emerging Asian equities .MIMS00000PUS advanced as much as 2% to its highest since September 9, 2021.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** South Korea tells China it wants to upgrade economic relations

** Equity markets in Philippines closed for a public holiday

** Thailand car production drops 11.4% y/y in July