EMERGING MARKETS-Asian stocks rally, currencies weaken ahead of central bank meetings

(.) * Indonesia's rupiah is region's biggest laggard * Philippine stocks rise as much as 1.3% * Investors focus on central bank policy meetings across the globe By Echha Jain March 18 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian equities rallied on Monday while currencies weakened against the U.S. dollar, led by Indonesia's rupiah, as investor attention turns toward central bank meetings this week which could stimulate volatility in currency markets. Stocks in Manilla jumped as much as 1.3%, followed by equities in Taipei which climbed as much as 0.7%. On the other hand, the rupiah depreciated as much as 0.5% against the dollar. Malaysia's ringgit followed suit, slipping as much as 0.3%. The ringgit, which declined to a 26-year low last month, has slipped about 2.7% so far this year. Central bank officials in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico, among others, hold policy meetings this week, and most are likely to keep interest rates on hold - except the Bank of Japan, which is widely expected to end its eight-year-old negative interest rate policy. Markets are almost sure the U.S. Federal Reserve will stand pat at its meeting on March 20 with the CME FedWatch tool showing a 99.0% certainty. As at 0408 GMT, the tool showed a 50.4% chance of a rate cut in June. "However, markets are kept on their toes for any surprises around central banks' policy guidance or pushback against the scale of rate cuts, especially with commodity prices on the rise and the last leg of the inflation fight proving to be sticky," IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong said. Back in Asia, the yuan was flat while Shanghai stocks jumped 0.5% after data showed China's factory output and retail sales beat market expectations over January-February. "The lop-sidedness of the Chinese economy means that investment continues to be skewed towards manufacturing rather than real estate," said Natixis senior economist Trinh Nguyen. Both the Philippine peso and South Korean won slipped 0.2%. Thailand's baht slipped 0.2% whereas Bangkok stocks were up 0.4%. Elsewhere, Russia's rouble opened slightly firmer on Monday, a day after President Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia's election on Sunday, cementing his already tight grip on power. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Singapore's February exports fall 0.1% y/y, missing market estimates ** The Philippine central bank sees narrower a 2024, 2025 current account deficit ** Thailand's flourishing cannabis culture to end as government seeks ban ** Malaysia's February exports fall 0.8% y/y, missing market estimates Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0424 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCK DAILY YTD % X DAILY S YTD % % % Japan -0.05 -5.39 <.N2 +2.26 18.28 25> China EC> India +0.01 +0.41 <.NS -0.29 1.05 EI> Indones -0.48 -1.72 <.JK 0.21 0.98 ia SE> Malaysi -0.30 -2.67 <.KL 0.26 7.03 a SE> Philipp -0.18 -0.44 <.PS 1.16 7.00 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo -0.05 -1.43 <.ST 0.02 -2.06 re I> Taiwan -0.09 -2.81 <.TW 0.58 10.40 II> Thailan -0.17 -4.94 <.SE 0.46 -1.65 d TI> (Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)