EMERGING MARKETS-Asian FX gains on optimism over China reopening, smaller Fed hikes

* Thai baht, stocks touch highest level since April * S.Korean won rises over 2% * Chinese yuan jumps to near 5-month high By Himanshi Akhand Jan 9 (Reuters) - Thailand's baht and South Korea's won were the top gainers in Asia on Monday, as emerging currencies got a boost from rising hopes of smaller rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the reopening of top trading partner China's borders. The baht and Thai stocks rose as much as 1%, both touching their highest levels since April 2022. The currency has gained 3.4% since the start of 2023, making it the top performer in the region. "Given tourist receipts from China in Thailand accounted for more than 3% of Thailand's GDP in 2019, highest in Southeast Asia, we expect Thailand to be the main beneficiary of China's reopening," analysts at OCBC wrote in a note. China braced for a "new phase" in its battle against COVID after Beijing dropped pandemic border controls, dismantling a final pillar of a zero-COVID policy and allowing a surge in traffic across the nation. The yuan jumped to a near five-month high against the dollar. Weakness in the U.S. dollar also boosted investor sentiment after data on Friday showed wage growth slowed in December, while services industry activity contracted for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years. Investors will now focus on the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data, due on Thursday. "If the CPI numbers come in below expectations again, we can expect to see a continuation of this risk rally as the markets will have greater confidence that we are getting closer towards the end of the Fed tightening cycle," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. Across the region, currencies strengthened, with the South Korean won gaining over 2% to hit a peak since early June. Both Malaysia's ringgit and the Philippines' peso strengthened by 0.7%. Major regional stock indexes were also higher. Equities in Manila and New Delhi rose as much as 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively. Elsewhere, analysts warned of more volatility in Brazil's financial markets following the arrest of supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro after they invaded the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court. The Brazilian real, among the top-performing emerging currencies in 2022, had yet to trade on Monday. "I don't expect there to be any flowing effect in emerging Asian currencies from it (the situation in Brazil), but it does put Asia in a better relative position among emerging assets," Goh added. HIGHLIGHTS ** Alibaba jumped 7% after announcements that Ant founder Jack Ma is giving up control of the fintech giant following an overhaul ** Chinese internet stocks rose after Guo Shuqing, Communist Party secretary of the People's Bank of China, told state media that China's clampdown on the internet sector is coming to an end ** Top gainers on Thailand's SETI include AQ Estate PCL and ICC International PCL Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0652 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD % % Japan +0.17 -0.55 <.N2 - - 25> China EC> India +0.42 +0.42 <.NS 1.45 0.07 EI> Indonesi +0.35 -0.07 <.JK -0.32 -2.73 a SE> Malaysia +0.69 +0.66 <.KL 0.54 -0.46 SE> Philippi +0.67 +0.96 <.PS 1.61 3.19 nes I> S.Korea 11> Singapor +0.23 +0.62 <.ST 0.60 1.39 e I> Taiwan +0.53 +0.57 <.TW 2.64 4.35 II> Thailand +0.96 +3.36 <.SE 0.82 1.14 TI> (Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)