EMERGING MARKETS-Rupiah, peso on the defensive vs dollar; c.bank meetings loom

* Peso and rupiah fall as investors cash in on last week's gains * Eyes on c.bank meetings in Philippines, Indonesia this week * Malaysian stocks lag peers * China factory output, retail sales miss forecast By Navya Mittal Nov 15 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian currencies were on the defensive as the dollar strengthened after more Federal Reserve officials made the case for even higher U.S. interest rates. The peso and the rupiah lost about 0.3% each, while peers Malaysian ringgit and Singapore dollar eked out meagre gains. Investors in the Philippines and Indonesia also looked towards monetary policy meetings in both countries later this week, where central banks are expected to hike interest rates further. "I think probably we are just consolidating at the moment," said Mitul Kotecha, head of emerging markets strategy at TD Securities. Investors cashed in on lofty gains made against the dollar last week when softer U.S. inflation data had boosted expectations that the Fed could slow the pace of monetary tightening. But the greenback rose on Tuesday after Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard on Monday echoed weekend comments by Fed Governor Christopher Waller that interest rates need to keep rising to battle inflation, although potentially at a slower pace. In Southeast Asia, rate decisions from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Bank Indonesia (BI) due Thursday look set to dominate headlines. BSP is expected to deliver a jumbo 75 basis points (bps) rate hike to combat soaring inflation and limit weakening in the peso, according to a Reuters poll. In Indonesia, BI was poised to deliver a third consecutive 50-basis-point hike, according to a separate Reuters poll, though some analysts expected a smaller quarter-point move given the relatively strong currency. Indonesia's trade surplus unexpectedly widened in October, but ING analysts warned of a decline ahead. "Record high trade surpluses have supported the IDR for most of 2022 but the gradual decline of this buffer suggests that a key support for the currency may be fading going into 2023," they said in a note. The Indian rupee was largely unchanged and stocks inched higher after the country's annual retail inflation eased in October, prompting bets of smaller interest rate hikes from the country's central bank. Shares in Malaysia dropped for the second consecutive day and lost 0.5%, while Taiwanese equities jumped for the third day and soared more than 2%. Chinese stocks hit a near two-month high and the yuan firmed 0.3%. The gains came even as China's factory output grew more slowly than expected and retail sales unexpectedly dropped in October, suggesting the world's second-largest economy is losing momentum. HIGHLIGHTS ** WRAPUP 2-G20 summit opens in Bali with a plea for unity as Ukraine war tops agenda ** Top losers on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index include Hartalega Holdings down 3.26%, Dialog Group down 1.92%, Digi.Com down 1.54% at 3.84 ringgit ** Top gainers on the Singapore STI include Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust up 2.34%, Wilmar International up 1.72%, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust up 1.68% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0455 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % % DAILY YTD % % Japan -0.36 -18.03 0.13 -2.75 China +0.30 -9.86 1.27 -14.21 India -0.12 -8.64 -0.11 5.51 Indonesi -0.35 -8.48 -0.02 6.63 a Malaysia +0.16 -9.18 -0.62 -7.19 Philippi -0.30 -11.15 0.18 -10.62 nes S.Korea +0.12 -10.23 -0.09 -16.97 Singapor -0.03 -1.73 0.41 4.81 e Taiwan +0.14 -10.89 2.66 -20.13 Thailand -0.13 -6.54 0.17 -1.89 (Reporting by Navya Mittal; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)