EMERGING MARKETS-Asian currencies weaken as global risk aversion weighs

* Most stock markets in region in red * Most currencies weaken, S.Korean won falls most * Thai baht at weakest level in five years * S. Korean won slips to lowest in two years By Indranil Sarkar April 27 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies weakened against a stronger dollar on Wednesday as expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates aggressively next week and fears of a sharp slowdown in China prompted investors towards safer bets. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, stood at its highest level since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020, with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes sliding 5.5 basis points. "With risk assets continuing to show instability and markets having now made a conviction call on the Fed's aggressive tightening cycle, the dollar has likely found a new floor," ING analysts wrote. While investors prepare themselves for a potential half-point interest rate hike in the world's largest economy when the U.S. Fed meets on May 3-4, "for Asia rates, the backdrop remains challenging," DBS analyst Eugene Leow said. "Underperformance of Asia rates is likely in the near term." Most currencies in Southeast Asia were in the red. The Thai baht slipped to its weakest level since May 2017, while the Taiwan dollar weakened 0.3%. Thailand's central bank said on Tuesday it was closely monitoring the baht and was ready to take action if the unit turns unusually volatile, adding that the factors influencing local currency moves were mainly external. The South Korean won dropped more than 1% to its lowest level since March 2020 as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to speed up development of his country's nuclear arsenal. North Korea's state media showed him overseeing a huge military parade that displayed intercontinental ballistic missiles on Monday night. South Korea's foreign exchange authorities were suspected of selling U.S. dollars to curb the won's fall on Wednesday, two dealers told Reuters. Bucking the trend, the Philippine peso firmed 0.1% against the dollar. The country's central bank is expected to consider a rate hike at its policy meeting in June to keep inflation under control, its governor said in a television interview on Tuesday. The country's benchmark index fell to over a month low following the news. Philippines has kept its key rates unchanged at record lows since November 2020. Stock markets across the region were trading in red, coming off the back of a weak Wall Street session overnight, where the Nasdaq closed at its lowest level since December 2020. "Equities went through another rough session as the theme of global monetary tightening and slowing growth continued to resonate loudly across markets," analysts at ING said. HIGHLIGHTS ** Thailand's 10-year government bond yields are down 32.39 basis points at 2.79% ** In Philippines, top index losers are JG Summit Holdings Inc down 3.9%; Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc down 2.9% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0715 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD % Japan -0.48 -9.97 -1.17 -8.35 China +0.01 -3.09 2.49 -18.72 India -0.11 -3.05 -0.99 -1.86 Indonesia -0.12 -1.23 -0.62 9.20 Malaysia -0.08 -4.43 -0.54 1.31 Philippines +0.10 -2.41 -1.66 -3.63 S.Korea -1.14 -6.04 -1.10 -11.37 Singapore -0.01 -2.16 -0.16 6.18 Taiwan -0.25 -5.77 -2.05 -10.51 Thailand -0.29 -2.88 -0.43 0.26 (Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)