EMERGING MARKETS-Asian shares dip, FX subdued as investors gear up for US CPI

* Yuan and yen take a breather * Traders await U.S. CPI print * Won and peso only gainers Sept 12 (Reuters) - Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday coupled with thin emerging currency trading as investors exercised caution ahead of key U.S. inflation print, which will show how close the Federal Reserve is to ending its rate hike cycle. The benchmark index in South Korea fell 0.7%, emerging as the top loser, dragged down by poor performance from heavyweight chip and battery makers. Equity markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia fell 0.2%, 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Among currencies, the won gained 0.3% against the U.S. dollar, hitting its highest in a week, alongside the Philippine peso, which was the only other currency in the green, rising 0.1%. "The Korean won is playing catch-up to gains seen in the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, while the dollar retreated," said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC. The U.S. inflation report on Wednesday is one of the key data points that markets participants will be watching closely to gauge further prospects for the U.S. dollar. "Key focus this week for most foreign exchange currencies, including the won is still on US CPI as that would influence US rates and US dollar direction," OCBC analysts said in a note. Markets have baked in a pause at the conclusion of the Fed's Sept. 19-20 monetary policy meeting, beyond which the path forward is less certain. The Thai baht fell 0.3% as traders exercised caution after the country's new Prime Minister's policy agenda was opposed in parliament. "PM Srettha Thavision's policy outline shows continuity, but it lacks in finer details and targets," said Citi analysts. "The Bank Of Thailand has maintained a hawkish stance and will likely continue to hike rates in September." The Chinese yuan took a breather and was trading almost flat during the day but later retreated to fall about 0.1%, while the stock market in the world's second-largest economy fell, dragged by property stocks. Chinese authorities in recent weeks have rolled out a series of measures, such as easing borrowing rules, to support the debt-riddled property sector. "Chinese yuan continues to enjoy relative calm today following the record fix yesterday, slight improvement in data and impactful People's Bank Of China statement," said OCBC. The greenback took a breather after falling the most in two months and was trading 0.1% higher at 104.64. The yen was slightly weaker following its strong advances in the previous session, but steadied at a near one-week high. Shares in Bangkok, however, gained 0.4%, whereas stock markets in India added 0.2%, hitting a record high for the second straight session, and Taiwan advanced 0.9%. Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0622 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % X S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan -0.20 -10.7 <.N2 0.95 25.61 4 25> China EC> India +0.07 -0.30 <.NS 0.05 10.50 EI> Indones -0.16 +1.44 <.JK -0.30 1.34 ia SE> Malaysi -0.04 -5.88 <.KL -0.18 -2.88 a SE> Philipp +0.07 -1.78 <.PS 0.13 -4.95 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo -0.07 -1.59 <.ST -0.19 -1.21 re I> Taiwan -0.13 -4.11 <.TW 0.85 17.22 II> Thailan -0.25 -2.77 <.SE 0.38 -7.30 d TI> HIGHLIGHTS: ** Thai PM to unveil policies to 'match challenges' facing economy ** Malaysia fails to appeal ex-PM Najib's acquittal in 1MDB audit tampering case ** China 2023 GDP growth forecast cut to 5.0%, 4.5% in 2024 -economists (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)