EMERGING MARKETS-Asian currencies fall on dollar strength, China COVID woes

* Indian rupee hits record low for 7th consecutive session * Malaysian ringgit extends losses to a fourth session * Asian stocks fall ahead of key central bank meetings By Tejaswi Marthi July 19 (Reuters) - Asian currencies fell on Tuesday, led by Thailand's baht and the Malaysian ringgit, as the dollar held its ground, while rising COVID-19 cases in regional economic powerhouse China and fears of a global recession weighed on investor sentiment. The ringgit hit its weakest since March 2017 and was last down 0.1%, while the Thai baht also slipped 0.1%. The Indian rupee breached the psychological mark of 80 to hit a record low for the seventh straight session. The dollar remained at elevated levels even after markets pared back bets of a full percentage-point U.S. rate hike. It has gained nearly 12% this year as a series of aggressive rate hikes and fears of a global recession drove investors towards safe havens. "I think the main driver for Asian currencies remains the USD which moved up recently from demands for safe-haven assets amid concerns over recession," said Poon Panichpibool, a market strategist at Krung Thai Bank. Currencies and stocks in the region were also pressured by rising COVID-19 cases in China, which raised fears of a further slowdown in economic growth. Investors were also concerned about a further hit to China's property sector as growing numbers of homebuyers have threatened to stop mortgage payments on unfinished apartments. "We think the recent mortgage boycott and potential default risks are more worrisome, given that they could visibly lift non-performing loan (NPL) ratios," analysts at Barclays said in a note. "China's monetary policy should stay accommodative with appropriate liquidity to cushion risks and support bond issuance." they added. Coming back to the baht, analysts at Maybank are cautious, given the risks from COVID-19 outbreaks in China and the domestic central bank lagged its peers in normalising monetary policy. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) is the only emerging-market central bank apart from Bank Indonesia in the region to hold interest rates at a record low despite surging inflation. However, central bank officials have signalled that the BOT was highly likely to tighten monetary policy at the August meeting. Bank Indonesia is likely to hold interest rates at a record low when it meets on Thursday, a Reuters poll found. However, one in three economists expected BI to hike rates by 25 basis points to shore up the rupiah and stand guard against capital outflows stemming from aggressive U.S. rate hikes. Stocks in the region also fell following cues from a weak Wall Street session on Monday. Equities in Thailand dropped 1.3% to lead losses, followed by South Korea which slipped 0.3%. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields rise 4.2 basis points to hit near 4-week high of 7.434% ** China raises loan-support efforts for developers amid mortgage boycott ** Vietnam c.bank says will stick to monetary policy that supports economic growth Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0629 GMT COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS RIC YTD DAILY YTD DAILY % % % % Japan +0.14 -16.57 0.65 -6.36 China India +0.04 -7.02 -0.04 -6.23 Indonesia -0.05 -4.94 0.75 1.94 Malaysia -0.09 -6.53 -0.20 -8.98 Philippines -0.05 -9.51 0.00 -11.99 S.Korea Singapore +0.16 -3.29 -0.26 -0.23 Taiwan -0.08 -7.51 -0.17 -19.35 Thailand -0.08 -8.96 -1.26 -7.98 (Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)