EMERGING MARKETS-Rupiah falls on bond outflows; most Asian FX, equities eye weekly loss

* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E * Indonesia benchmark bond yields up ~38 bps this week * Rupiah may stay subdued for a while - DBS analyst * S. Korea shares, won rebound to close up * Indian currency markets shut By Anushka Trivedi Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah hit a three-weeklow on Friday as investors dumped the country's bonds after aninterest rate cut amid a dour economic outlook and rising U.S.yields, while most Asian stocks and currencies were headed for aweekly loss. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields returned to anear one-year high hit earlier this week, putting pressure onriskier Asian stocks and currencies across the board. A subdued greenback failed to lift the Thai baht, the Malaysian ringgit and Singapore's dollar as they traded flat to lower on the day. Their respectivestock exchanges, and were on track toshed 0.5% to 1.5% for the week. The rupiah fell 0.4%, off about 1.6% from itsTuesday's high, as a crippling COVID-19 infection wave led BankIndonesia (BI) to trim rates by 25 basis points (bps) theprevious day and downgrade its economic growth forecast for2021. Indonesia's bonds, favoured by foreign investors for theirhigh yields, also suffered the brunt of rising U.S. yields andin turn pressured the rupiah. "Markets are looking past BI's rate cut and are focusing onthe uptick in U.S. Treasury yields," said Wei Liang Chang, a macro strategist at DBS Bank. "With equity risk appetite softening and U.S. yields stayingfirm, the rupiah could stay on the back foot, with sentimentfurther dampening after BI trimmed its growth expectations forthe year." Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields were up 9.1basis points to 6.624%, their highest since early November. Theyields have jumped about 38 bps so far this week. A bright spot in markets, South Korea's stocks andwon rebounded to close higher as the governmentmulled a fifth round of COVID-19 cash handouts. Indian currency markets were closed for a holiday,while shares fell 0.3% on profit-taking in lenders. HIGHLIGHTS ** Rupiah ends about 0.6% weaker for the week ** Top losers on the Singapore STI include: JardineMatheson Holdings Ltd down 3.9% and Keppel DC REIT down 2.4% ** In the Philippines, top index gainers are: Aboitiz EquityVentures Inc up 3.8% and Ayala Corp up 3.1% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0746 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan +0.05 -2.24 -0.72 9.38 China +0.38 +0.99 0.57 6.42 India 0.00 +0.57 -0.35 7.76 Indonesia -0.39 -0.18 0.33 4.04 Malaysia -0.07 -0.57 0.22 -2.95 Philippines -0.02 -0.89 1.12 -2.99 S.Korea +0.15 -1.78 0.68 8.15 Singapore +0.03 -0.35 -0.99 1.28 Taiwan +1.35 +1.90 -0.51 10.92 Thailand +0.03 -0.13 -0.82 3.41 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by KrishnaChandra Eluri)