EMERGING MARKETS-Asian markets buoyed by hopes of smaller Fed rate hikes

* Thai baht notches 6-month high * Indonesia's GoTo Gojek down 6%, pares Tuesday's gains * Malaysia's ringgit snaps 3-day losing streak By Roushni Nair Dec 14 (Reuters) - Emerging markets across Asia rose on Wednesday as cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes will slow and eventually stop next year. Most Asian currencies firmed against the greenback, with South Korea's won and Thailand's baht gaining over 0.6% to lead the pack. U.S. consumer prices barely rose in November, leading to the smallest annual increase in inflation in nearly a year. The Fed funds futures have priced in a lower peak interest rate for this tightening cycle, now seeing the central bank stopping just below 5% by March next year. Economists polled by Reuters unanimously expect the Fed to go for a smaller 50 basis points interest rate hike on Thursday. Analysts at ING said that the upbeat inflation print reinforces the view that an interest rate peak is in sight, and "recessionary forces" could lead to rate cuts in the second half of 2023. Equities in the region were also broadly higher, with shares in Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai jumping 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. In the Philippines, the peso firmed 0.2% and stocks surged 0.7% ahead of a central bank policy meeting scheduled on Thursday. A Reuters poll showed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will be leaning towards a modest 50 bps interest rate hike when it meets on Thursday. "There is room for more policy hikes from the BSP as inflation remains sticky and given that the Fed is not yet done raising rates," analysts at First Metro Securities and DBS said in a joint note. "For the first half of next year, we prefer to tactically take a risk-on view of a Fed pivot/pause leading to bear market rallies (in the Philippines) and presenting opportunities to take profit," they added. Meanwhile, minutes of the meeting from the Thai central bank's interest rate committee showed further monetary policy tightening would be gradual and measured and could be adjusted if necessary. Most economists predict a hike by the Bank of Thailand when it meets late in January. Bucking the regional trend, stocks in Jakarta dipped 0.4%, weighed by losses in the country's biggest tech firm GoTo Gojek Tokopedia that slipped as much as 7%. The stock had snapped a 16-day losing streak in the previous session. Separately, the Asian Development Bank cut its growth forecasts for developing Asia countries, saying the region continued to face headwinds from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's COVID-19 policies, and a slowing global economy. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Indonesia's crude palm oil output is seen at 46.5 million tonnes this year ** China's central bank expected to fully roll over maturing medium-term policy loans- Reuters survey ** Thailand's economy to grow by 3.4% this year- Finance Minister Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0710 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % DAILY YTD % % Japan +0.16 -14.9 0.72 -2.21% 8 China -0.15 -8.70 -0.07 -12.80 India +0.30 -9.96 0.39 7.64 Indonesi +0.22 -8.78 -0.41 3.05 a Malaysia +0.41 -5.54 0.61 -3.80 Philippi +0.13 -8.51 0.50 -7.13 nes S.Korea +0.75 -8.31 1.13 -19.42 Singapor -0.10 +0.07 0.37 5.12 e Taiwan +0.55 -9.43 1.49 -19.10 Thailand +0.61 -3.47 0.56 -1.36 (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)