EMERGING MARKETS-Indonesia, Philippine stocks drop 1% as rate hike prospects firm

* Indonesia shares set for worst day since Sept 16 * Singapore dollar outperforms Asia FX * China COVID cases continue to rise By Navya Mittal Nov 10 (Reuters) - Shares in the Philippines and Indonesia led losses among emerging Asian markets on Thursday as further steep interest rate hikes by their central banks remained a possibility due to strong economic growth. Stocks in Manila and Jakarta lost over 1% each. The Philippine peso and the Indonesian rupiah were a tad weaker in choppy trading, as the U.S. dollar firmed ahead of inflation data from the world's largest economy. Shares in Thailand and South Korea fell 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively, as broader sentiment remained subdued ahead of the U.S. data that could inform the Federal Reserve's policy path ahead. The Philippine economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate, but the government said the recovery is not without risks given rising rates and soaring inflation that could crimp consumer spending. Still, the growth figures give the Philippine central bank more room to manoeuvre as it looks to match the Fed's pace of policy tightening. "Today's Q3 GDP report suggests that the Philippines will easily attain its growth target for the year ... With growth resilient, we expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to remain hawkish with the central bank likely pushing the policy rate to 5.5% by year-end," said Nicholas Mapa, senior Economist at ING. A similar theme played out in Indonesia earlier this week after its economy expanded at its fastest pace in more than a year in the third quarter, although risks from weaker commodity prices, tighter policy and inflation loomed. In broader Asia, the Malaysian ringgit slipped 0.3% and the South Korean won dropped 0.6%. The ringgit has lost more than 11% of its value this year and is among the top losers in the region. Analysts have sounded caution on Malaysia due to risks of a global slowdown as well as upcoming elections. "With fears of a deep and prolonged recession in place, we are firmly in the camp that Malaysia's business cycle is headed for a cyclical slowdown from 4Q22 to 2Q23," analysts at Malaysian bank RHB said in a note. China's yuan slipped for the fourth straight session and stocks eased for the third consecutive day as the country continued to grapple with a surge in COVID-19 cases. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Top index losers in Philippines are SM Investments Corp down nearly 4% at 798 pesos and Universal Robina Corp down 3% at 121.2 pesos ** Top losers on the Jakarta stock index include Alfa Energi Investama Tbk PT down nearly 7% at 268 rupiah and Sunter Lakeside Hotel Tbk PT down nearly 7% at 945 rupiah ** Singapore's 10-year benchmark yield is down 4.6 basis points at 3.486% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0405 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % DAILY YTD % % Japan +0.25 -21.2 #VALUE #VALUE 2 ! ! China 8 India -0.17 -8.88 -0.48 4.12 Indonesi -0.24 -9.21 -1.24 6.09 a Malaysia -0.32 -11.4 0.28 -7.48 6 Philippi -0.07 -12.1 -1.15 -13.37 nes 9 S.Korea 6 Singapor +0.06 -3.75 0.37 1.72 e Taiwan +0.25 -12.9 -1.12 -25.98 9 Thailand +0.05 -9.44 -0.18 -2.30 (Reporting by Navya Mittal; Editing by Tom Hogue)