EMERGING MARKETS-Most Asian currencies flat, Indian markets hit by virus surge

* Indian rupee slips to mid-July lows * Nifty 50 index down as much as a percent * Indonesia's March exports, imports beat forecast By Sameer Manekar April 15 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies traded flat on Thursday as investors awaited key economic data from the United States, while Indian stocks and the rupee eased as a massive second wave of coronavirus cases weighed on sentiment. Currencies such as the Malaysian ringgit and the Philippine peso, which have strengthened against the U.S. dollar this month, traded in a tight range even as the greenback hovered near four-week lows. Markets were looking ahead to the release of U.S. weekly jobless claims and March retail sales data later in the day for cues on the speed and extent of recovery in the world's largest economy before adjusting their positions. Indian shares gave up initial gains to slip nearly 1%. The rupee, trading after a mid-week break, fell to its lowest since mid-July after the country reported a record 200,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. "A strong political will and public awareness is the best hope... but that won't spare the economy from a rough ride ahead amid ongoing macro policy paralysis," ING economist Prakash Sakpal said. "We see the INR possibly giving back all the gains it made against the USD since early 2020, pushing to 76.80 against the USD over the next three months." South Korea's won softened about 0.2%, losing some ground gained in the last session after its central bank left interest rates unchanged on worries rising coronavirus cases could thwart economic recovery. Equities in Indonesia slipped 0.2% after its March trade surplus narrowed, largely in line with a Reuters poll, as exports and imports jumped higher than expected. Meanwhile, data showed foreign investors continued to purchase emerging-market bonds in March, though inflows mainly focused on South Korean bonds as investors searched for safety among emerging-market bonds. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields rise 1.4 basis points to 6.587% ** S. Korea's most liquid 3-year treasury bond yield rise 4.7 basis points to 1.149% ** Eicher Motors and Infosys biggest losers on Nifty 50 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0627 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD X S S YTD % % DAILY % % Japan +0.02 -5.1 <.N2 0.07 8.01 9 25> China 3 EC> India -0.11 -2.7 <.NS -0.71 3.01 6 EI> Indones 0.00 -3.8 <.JK -0.21 0.98 ia 4 SE> Malaysi +0.02 -2.5 <.KL 0.19 -1.59 a 7 SE> Philipp -0.02 -0.9 <.PS 0.26 -8.40 ines 5 I> S.Korea 4 11> Singapo -0.04 -1.1 <.ST 0.03 11.83 re 4 I> Taiwan +0.13 +0.3 <.TW 1.25 15.91 0 II> Thailan 0.00 -4.8 <.SE 0.00 6.33 d 6 TI> (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill and Krishna Chandra Eluri)