EMERGING MARKETS-Most Asian currencies, stocks rise on US rate cut bets

* Most currencies, equities rise * Taiwan stocks hit record high * Malaysia central bank rate decision in focus By John Biju March 7 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies and equities rose on Thursday, buoyed by growing expectations that U.S. rate cuts are on the table this year while focus shifted to an interest rate decision by Malaysia's central bank. The South Korean won climbed 0.3% while the Indonesian rupiah gained 0.2%. Equities in Taiwan rose as much as 1.5% to hit another new peak while stocks in Indonesia jumped 0.4%. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in his testimony to lawmakers on Wednesday said that rate reductions will "likely be appropriate" later this year, although he pointed out that progress on inflation "is not assured." Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank said that as long as the market still believes that the Fed will cut rates three times or potentially four, that could support Asian currencies in the near term. "However, the risk could be that if the U.S. economic data remain strong or beat market expectations clearly ... I would expect another round of selling pressures on Asian FXs." Back in Asia, the focus remains on Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) monetary policy meeting where it is widely expected to stand pat on rates. "To curb further potential depreciation on MYR, it is possible that the BNM will maintain the policy rate as well as maintain their neutral tone, without providing any signal that they will cut the policy rate anytime soon," Panichpibool said referring to the Malaysian ringgit. Malaysia's ringgit climbed 0.4% while equities rose 0.2%. The ringgit has been recovering its losses after hitting a 26-year low in February, prompting the central bank to assure that the fall was largely due to external factors and did not reflect the positive prospects of the country's economy. However, the currency is still down 2.6% for the year. "The MYR is still prone to underperformance until the external environment turns more conducive for an exports recovery and capital inflows," HSBC analysts wrote referring to the ringgit. Meanwhile, data showed that China's export and import growth in the January-February period beat forecasts, reinforcing expectations for a recovery in global trade. The Chinese yuan was flat while equities edged 0.1% lower. Elsewhere, the Egyptian pound on Wednesday fell as low as 50.75 to the dollar for the first time, after its central bank devalued the currency and hiked interest rates by 600 basis points. The country then secured an expanded $8 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Malaysia central bank taking action to encourage flows into FX market ** Japan sees growing momentum towards March end to negative rates ** Indonesia's lunch project to add 2.6 pct points to GDP by 2029, says Prabowo aide Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0343 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % X S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan +0.46 -5.13 <.N2 -0.71 18.95 25> China EC> India +0.03 +0.49 <.NS 0.00 3.42 EI> Indones +0.19 -1.72 <.JK 0.38 1.17 ia SE> Malaysi +0.38 -2.59 <.KL 0.17 5.47 a SE> Philipp +0.05 -0.76 <.PS -0.75 5.84 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo +0.10 -1.37 <.ST -0.13 -3.34 re I> Taiwan +0.04 -2.62 <.TW 1.11 9.96 II> Thailan -0.07 -4.11 <.SE 0.15 -3.06 d TI> (Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)