EMERGING MARKETS-Asian FX, stocks gain; Indonesian rupiah rises on surprise rate hike

* Taiwan stocks up 2.9% * South Korean shares rise 2.1% * Indonesia raises interest rate by 25 bps (Updates at 0814 GMT) By Ayushman Ojha April 24 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian currency gained on Wednesday, with the Indonesian rupiah boosted by the central bank's unexpected rate hike, while Taiwan and South Korea led the Wall Street-inspired gain in equities. The rupiah advanced 0.5%, after Bank Indonesia's (BI) surprise 25 basis points rate hike to support the currency against risk aversion-linked selling and a delay in U.S. rate cuts. Only six of 35 economists in a Reuters poll had expected BI to raise the seven-day repo from 6.00%. "Today's rate hike is to be perceived as a positive for IDR, showing BI's commitment to stability," said Fakhrul Fulvian, economist at Trimegah Securities. "It is an expectation game. If we are to have (BI) rate cuts later, the expectation have to be on the hawkish side to ensure lower inflation and better external balance to come later this year, and vice versa." After the rupiah hit a four-year low last week, BI intervened "more boldly to maintain market confidence". Other regional currencies rose as the U.S. dollar softened after data showed U.S. business activity cooled to a four-month low in April, suggesting the Federal Reserve had some leeway on the interest rates front. The South Korean won appreciated 0.8%, while the Philippine peso snapped an eight-session losing run to gain 0.4%. The regional stock markets continued their bullish run, with Taiwan jumping 2.9% and South Korea advancing 2.1%. Wall Street closed higher overnight as investors digested company earnings. Tesla's shares soared following its promise of new models. The Philippines stock index rose as much as 1.4%, while Indonesian shares added as much as 1.1%. Globally investors will assess U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product data on Thursday and PCE inflation data on Friday for the cues on the Fed's rate outlook. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, March inflation data is due on Thursday. The headline number is expected at 2.0% year-on-year, according to a Reuters poll, compared to 1.8% in February. The Malaysian ringgit inched 0.1% higher, while shares were 0.7% higher. The Vietnamese dong edged 0.1% higher, barely distancing itself from its record low last week. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Thai c.bank minutes show economy expanding, uncertainty remains ** Unemployment biggest worry in India, world's fastest growing economy Asia stock indexes and currenc ies at 0814 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD X S S YTD % % DAILY % % Japan -0.06 -8.9 <.N2 +2.4 14.93 4 25> China 4 EC> India +0.06 -0.1 <.NS 0.36 3.30 0 EI> Indones +0.40 -4.6 <.JK 0.76 -1.48 ia 7 SE> Malaysi +0.04 -3.8 <.KL 0.65 8.05 a 9 SE> Philipp +0.02 -3.7 <.PS 1.01 1.90 ines 4 I> S.Korea 3 11> Singapo +0.04 -3.0 <.ST 0.80 1.81 re 4 I> Taiwan +0.20 -5.5 <.TW 2.72 12.27 1 II> Thailan -0.24 -7.6 <.SE 0.09 -4.04 d 9 TI> (Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Savio D'Souza)