EMERGING MARKETS-Asian currencies nudge higher on dollar weakness, stocks largely up

* Most Asian FX trading higher * Rupiah hits over 8-week high * U.S. dollar at over 2-month low By Roushni Nair Nov 20 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian currencies rose on Monday, led by the Taiwanese dollar and South Korean won, as prospects of a potential end to U.S. interest rate hikes weighed on the greenback. The won advanced as much as 0.9% to a peak since Aug. 1. The rupiah rose as much as 0.6% to its highest level since Sept. 22. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.13% to 103.71 by 0653 GMT. The U.S. dollar has lost steam, giving up gains it made earlier this year, as the steep decline in Treasury yields since the start of November continued following economic data that suggested inflation is cooling, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve is near the end of its rate-hiking cycle. Meanwhile, minutes of the Fed's last meeting will be released on Tuesday and is likely to offer some colour on policymakers' thinking as they held rates steady for a second time. The next policy meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12-13. "Until we get some more data underscoring the U.S. economy's resilience, the dollar is likely to remain vulnerable. EM and other risk assets should perform well near-term," Win Thin, global head of currency strategy at BBH Global, said in a note. The Chinese yuan advanced more than 0.5% as the unit was nudged higher by the central bank. China left benchmark lending rates unchanged at a monthly fixing, matching expectations, as a weaker yuan continued to limit further monetary easing. The Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit and the Singapore dollar appreciated between 0.1% and 0.3%. Meanwhile, news of Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party's progress on a joint presidential bid last week pushed the Taiwan dollar to its strongest weekly rally in a year on expectations of an easing of Taiwan-China tensions if they won, although disagreements prevailed on who would run for president. The Taiwanese dollar appreciated as much as 7% to its highest level since Aug. 2. Stocks in Taiwan were largely unchanged. In Thailand, the economy grew much slower than expected in the third quarter, weighed down by weak exports and government spending, while stronger growth is expected next year. Thai baht < THB=TH> pared early gains to trade largely flat. Stocks in Bangkok advanced 0.2%. "The increasing downside risks to growth strengthen the case for the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to embark on a prolonged pause," Krystal Tan, an analyst at ANZ Research, said in a note. The BOT will next review policy on Nov. 29, having delivered a surprise hike in the key rate to a decade high of 2.5% in September. Separately, Argentina elected right-wing libertarian Javier Milei as its new president on Sunday, rolling the dice on an outsider with radical views to fix an economy battered by triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and rising poverty. Investors await for Argentinian assets to start trading to assess any impact. HIGHLIGHTS: ** MSCI EM Asia index hovering near its 2 month high ** Malaysia's October exports fall 4.4% on-year, less than forecast ** Philippines posts $1.5 bln balance of payment surplus in October Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0710 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD % % Japan +0.28 -12.1 <.N2 -0.49 29.83 2 25> China EC> India -0.07 -0.73 <.NS -0.17 8.80 EI> Indonesi +0.32 +0.81 <.JK 0.09 1.95 a SE> Malaysia +0.30 -5.66 <.KL -0.34 -2.66 SE> Philippi +0.10 +0.30 <.PS -0.45 -5.83 nes I> S.Korea 11> Singapor +0.04 -0.17 <.ST -0.67 -4.54 e I> Taiwan +0.70 -2.93 <.TW 0.01 21.73 II> Thailand -0.06 -1.47 <.SE 0.15 -15.02 TI> (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)