EMERGING MARKETS-Indonesian rupiah firms ahead of c.bank decision; Asian stocks climb

* Bank Indonesia rate decision around 0700 GMT * Asian stock markets rise across the board after recent slump * Japan's equity markets closed for a holiday By Anushka Trivedi July 22 (Reuters) - The Indonesia's rupiah firmed in line with regional peers on Thursday, on hopes the central bank will stand pat on rates to support the country through its worst COVID-19 outbreak yet. The Singapore dollar, South Korea's won and the Taiwanese dollar gained 0.2% against a subdued greenback as risk appetite rebounded with strong earnings lifting Wall Street stocks overnight. The rupiah firmed 0.2% amid expectations the Bank Indonesia (BI) will keep its key interest rate at a record low of 3.50%, where it has been since February. The BI's two-day policy meeting ends later in the day. Local stocks jumped 1.2%, led by banking shares. The rupiah has weakened 2.5% over the past six-weeks since the COVID-19 situation in the heavily-populated Indonesia worsened amid slow vaccination and a creaky healthcare system. Indonesia's total case load is near 3 million, with daily deaths touching a record high. Officials have extended movement curbs in parts of the country till July 25, hurting economic activity in a number of sectors. "With the country hard hit by a surge in COVID-19 infections, monetary authorities will likely provide support for as long as possible, although additional rate cuts are likely off the table given the recent pressure on the rupiah," Nicholas Mapa, a senior ING economist, wrote in a note. "The central bank may resort to other programmes to help jumpstart bank lending such as incentives for loans to particular sectors of the economy," he added. Asian equities tracked their global counterparts higher with analysts pegging the gains on "buy the dip" behaviour and positive sentiment from the U.S. markets. Most stock indexes in the region like in India, Malaysia and Thailand have declined on a month-to-date basis as concerns over a Delta variant-led spike in COVID-19 infections and lockdowns worried investors. The Philippine stock index was up 1.5% on Thursday after four sessions of heavy losses, while Singapore and South Korea equities rose more than 1% each. HIGHLIGHTS ** Biggest gainers on the Jakarta index: Bank Central Asia and PT Bank Jago Tbk, up 1.6% and 3.5%, respectively ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields were up 2.7 basis points at 6.353% ** Top gainers on the Singapore STI include SATS Ltd up 2.9% and Singapore Airlines Ltd up 2.7% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0409 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan +0.14 -6.25 0.00 0.38 China +0.03 +0.96 0.33 2.91 India +0.00 -2.08 0.74 12.63 Indonesia +0.24 -3.21 1.25 2.12 Malaysia +0.15 -4.82 0.52 -6.31 Philippines -0.27 -4.47 1.49 -7.94 S.Korea +0.29 -5.61 1.10 13.15 Singapore +0.12 -3.00 1.20 11.00 Taiwan +0.20 +1.66 0.53 19.13 Thailand -0.03 -8.77 0.56 6.91 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)