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EMERGING MARKETS-Asian currencies gain on weaker dollar, China shares rebound

* China shares rebound after 4-day losing streak * S.Korean won adds 0.9%, biggest jump since April 14 * EM currencies benefit from weaker U.S dollar By Harish Sridharan July 29 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies strengthened on Thursday against a weaker dollar, which was weighed down by the U.S Federal Reserve's signal that rate hikes and stimulus tapering aren't on the radar in the near future. Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a news conference overnight took a dovish stance, saying that the U.S job market still had "some ground to cover" before it would be time to pull back emergency economic support measures. "Today's gains in regional (South-east Asia) currencies are probably due to the dovish Fed, and the report saying China's Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) held a meeting with major investment banks," said Gao Qim FX Strategist (EM Asia) at Scotiabank. Sources said China's securities regulator held a virtual meeting on Wednesday night with executives of top global investment banks seeking to calm financial markets after a massive sell-off in Chinese shares this week. The news aided risk sentiment locally and in the broader South-east Asia region. A media report https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/china-to-still-allow-ipos-in-the-us-securities-regulator-csrc-says.html also revealed that the Chinese government will continue to allow companies to conduct initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States, provided they adhere to listing requirements. The yuan was up 0.2%, while the South Korean won added as much as 0.9% and led gains among currencies in the region. "Some signs of reassurance from Chinese authorities, on regulatory drags likely being contained to certain sectors (as opposed to spillovers to more industries), likely lent some support to yuan and AxJ FX sentiments as well," Maybank analysts said in a note. Equities in China also took a breather, gaining as much as 1.4% and rebounding from a rampant sell-off over the past few days. Meanwhile, Thailand posted yet another daily record of new coronavirus infections cases and fatalities, while neighbouring Malaysia on Wednesday reported 17,405 coronavirus cases, also a new daily record. Stocks in Kuala Lumpur were up 0.3%, while Thailand shares dropped after returning to trading from a holiday on Wednesday. Equities in Taiwan added as much as 1%, their biggest jump in one-week ahead of the country's second quarter gross domestic product data expected on Friday. A survey conducted by Reuters showed that the country's economy is expected to have expanded at a slower pace in the second quarter as a rare spike in COVID-19 cases hurt consumption. Highlights ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 1 basis points at 6.319% ** Bright Led Electronic Corp up 10% and top gainer on the Taiwan SE Weighted Index ** China shares up as much as 1.4%, biggest jump since May 25 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0359 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCK DAILY YTD % DAILY S YTD % % % Japan +0.12 -5.95 0.64 1.15 China +0.23 +0.82 1.04 -2.20 India +0.00 -1.76 0.34 12.74 Indonesia +0.00 -3.07 0.51 2.35 Malaysia +0.25 -4.75 0.16 -6.72 Philippines -0.22 -4.61 0.66 -8.74 S.Korea +0.81 -5.16 0.05 12.70 Singapore +0.08 -2.50 0.48 11.00 Taiwan +0.23 +1.94 1.03 17.51 Thailand +0.33 -8.80 -0.12 5.96 (Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)