EMERGING MARKETS-Asian FX fall on strong dollar, Philippines leads stocks lower

EMERGING MARKETS-Asian FX fall on strong dollar, Philippines leads stocks lower

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Philippine and South Korean stocks led

most emerging Asian equity markets lower on Thursday as high

inflation data from the United States stoked fears of policy

tightening, while a strong dollar kept the region's currencies

on the backfoot.

The South Korean won eased 0.4% to lead falls

among currencies, and was at its weakest in over three weeks, as

the greenback stood at its highest levels of the year.

Overnight data showed that U.S. consumer prices in October

gained the most in 31 years, strengthening the case for the

Federal Reserve to hike rates even as a majority of Asian

central backs stick to accommodative settings.

Singapore stocks fell as much as 0.7%, but pared

losses and were trading flat by 0442 GMT. Transport firm

Comfortdelgro was the top loser, dropping nearly 4%

after it halted plans for an initial public offering of its

Australian unit.

(U.S. inflation) can lead to slowdown in Singapore economic

growth in the coming quarters due to Singapore's significant

reliance on overseas imported raw materials, said Kelvin Wong,

a market analyst with CMC Markets.

Indonesian stocks hit a record high early in the

session, but pared gains and were down just 0.04% by 0442 GMT.

Thai stocks edged lower, mostly dragged down by

heavyweight petroleum exploration firms.

Foreign investors are waiting to buy the dip if it falls

further ... gold prices also moved up, that limited the Thai

baht's weakness said Poon Panichpibool, a market strategist at

Krung Thai Bank.

In addition, an overnight plunge in oil prices was weighing

on Thai equities, Panichpibool said.

Among currencies, the Thai baht, Singapore dollar

and Philippine peso fell between 0.1% and 0.4%