EMERGING MARKETS-Taiwan and Thailand lift Asian stocks on Fed rate cut hopes

By Sneha Kumar

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Thailand and Taiwan led emerging Asian markets higher on Tuesday as investors stepped up bets on a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut in December, after several officials signalled support for easing.

The MSCI emerging Asia index .MIMS00000PUS rose 1%, extending gains for a second session. Taiwan’s benchmark .TWII climbed 1.5%, while Bangkok shares .SETI advanced 1.1%.

Momentum across regional markets has picked up in the last two days after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said soft labour conditions justify another quarter-point cut next month.

Lower U.S. borrowing costs typically support open Asian economies by giving their central banks greater scope to trim domestic rates.

"If the Fed does cut in December, it would symbolically support the relative ease towards the market's perceived terminal Fed funds rate of 3%," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

In Southeast Asia, stocks in Jakarta .JKSE slipped 0.7% from their record-high levels touched on Monday. The benchmark index in the Philippines .PSI fell 0.8% after rising as much as 0.7% earlier, to its highest level since late-October.

Singapore's benchmark index .STI fell 0.3%, following a surprise uptick in the city-state's core inflation for October.

Bank of America analysts now expect the Monetary Authority of Singapore to start normalisation as early as April instead of October 2026.

Asian currencies posted marginal gains, with the Malaysian ringgit MYR= and Indonesian rupiah IDR= up about 0.2% each, while the Philippine peso PHP=, Singapore dollar SGD= and Thai baht THB=TH were little changed.

The South Korean won KRW=KFTC was last up 0.4% after scaling a more-than-seven-month low the previous day. The currency has shed about 9.2% since late June, when it touched its best level this year of 1,347.1 won per dollar.

"The KRW could be reaching levels where the National Pension Service (NPS) could step in," Maybank wrote.

The country's foreign-exchange authorities and the NPS met on Monday to establish a new body aimed at balancing currency-market stability with the fund’s profitability, which generally benefits from a weaker won.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Thai October exports rise 5.7% y/y, below forecast

Severe floods displace thousands in Thailand and Malaysia, at least 8 killed

'Return' to China not an option for Taiwan's people, premier says responding to Xi