EMERGING MARKETS-S.Korean stocks fall after c.bank rate hike; others flat ahead of Powell speech

    * Malaysia stocks up for 5th day
    * S.Korea lifts interest rates from record low
    * Thailand, Philippines, India stocks flat

    By Arundhati Dutta
    Aug 26 (Reuters) - South Korean stocks fell on Thursday
after the Bank of Korea (BOK) raised policy rates, making it the
first major Asian central bank to move away from pandemic-era
monetary easing.
    Most other equity markets in the region were flat or lower,
as investors braced for a more hawkish stance from central banks
around the world following the BOK's move to raise interest
rates.
    Investors are also awaiting Federal Reserve chair Jerome
Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for clues over any
tapering of stimulus measures.
    The Philippine peso and the South Korean won
 weakened while other regional currencies were
subdued, even as the dollar held near a one-week low.
    "PHP simply reversing the sharp appreciation move the other
day as market positions ahead of the much awaited Jackson Hole
Symposium," said Nicholas Mapa, a senior economist at ING.
    "It had rallied sharply previously as foreign players bought
up local shares."
    South Korea's stock benchmark snapped a three-day
rally, and the won weakened 0.5% against the dollar.
    The Bank of Korea raised its policy rate for the first time
in almost three years, even as the country reported the highest
daily count of COVID-19 deaths for 2021.

    This raised concerns over further rate hikes from the BOK,
and of other central banks following suit, even as the COVID-19
caseload in the region has surged over the past few weeks. 
    "There is a good chance for the next rate hike to come
before the incumbent governor leaves office in March 2022, "
analysts at DBS said in a note. 
    However, they said policymakers will adopt a gradual and
calibrated approach toward interest rate normalisation, taking
into account the uncertainties on growth outlook in the next
6-18 months and slowdown risk in China.
    In Indonesia, the stock benchmark fell 1%, after the
country said its budget deficit was 2.04% of the GDP between
January and July this year.
    In Malaysia, the stock benchmark extended gains to a
fifth session, and the ringgit was at its strongest in
over a month. 
    Analysts at Maybank attributed this to uncertainties over
domestic politics finally fading, as new prime minister Ismail
Sabri Yaakob took charge last Saturday after the previous
government collapsed due to infighting.
    HIGHLIGHTS: 
    **Indonesian 3-year benchmark yields are down 5.5 basis
points at 4.724%
    **Malaysia's 10-year benchmark yield is up 0.8 basis points
at 3.25%
    **Singapore's 10-year benchmark yield is up 4.2 basis points
at 1.443%​​ 
     
  Asia stock indexes and currencies                       
 at   0717 GMT                                      
 COUNTRY   FX RIC          FX     FX  INDE  STOCKS  STOCKS
                      DAILY %  YTD %     X   DAILY   YTD %
                                                 %  
 Japan                  -0.12  -6.25  <.N2   0.06    1.09
                                      25>           
 China     <CNY=CFXS    -0.12  +0.68  <.SS   -1.09    0.82
           >                          EC>           
 India                  +0.02  -1.57  <.NS    0.02   19.00
                                      EI>           
 Indonesi               -0.21  -2.67  <.JK   -1.11    1.11
 a                                    SE>           
 Malaysia               +0.26  -4.08  <.KL    0.77   -2.79
                                      SE>           
 Philippi               -0.45  -3.89  <.PS   -0.02   -4.47
 nes                                  I>            
 S.Korea   <KRW=KFTC    -0.21  -7.20  <.KS   -0.58    8.88
           >                          11>           
 Singapor               +0.04  -2.34  <.ST    0.02    9.29
 e                                    I>            
 Taiwan                 +0.03  +2.02  <.TW    0.12   15.85
                                      II>           
 Thailand               +0.10  -8.52  <.SE    0.02   10.46
                                      TI>           
 
 (Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna
Chandra Eluri)