EMERGING MARKETS-South Korean stocks soar as growth hopes hold

* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh * Singapore facing biggest recession in its history * U.S.-China trade talks on Aug 15 By Nikhil Nainan Aug 11 (Reuters) - South Korea led gains for most of Asia's emerging currency and stock markets on Tuesday, as an improved global mood and signs in recent days that China's economy was getting back up to speed fuelled optimism about an economic recovery this year. Seoul shares jumped 1.7% in morning trade, while the won gained around 0.2%, with traders citing hefty purchases by foreign funds and optimism from retail investors as factors behind the move. After hopes of more fiscal stimulus prodded U.S. markets higher late on Monday, Philippine shares gained around 0.8% while those in another trade-focused economy, Thailand, rose around 1%. "Asia markets have broadly taken to the positive lead from Wall Street," said Jingyi Pan, a strategist at retail online trading platform IG in Singapore. With global trading volumes subdued by summer holidays in New York and London, most currencies also inched higher against the dollar. Data for several Asian economies made grim reading. South Korean exports and imports both contracted around 24% in the first 10 days of August compared to last year, while Singapore's second estimate of second quarter gross domestic product plunged by 42.9% from the previous quarter, on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis, contracting even more than previously thought. The Singapore market, catching up after a holiday on Monday, was among the most subdued, up just 0.2%. The absence of fresh Sino-U.S. flashpoints overnight helped the mood as investors await weekend talks between Beijing and Washington over their existing trade deal. Export numbers last week from China, allied to a slowing falls in factory prices reported on Monday, have fuelled hopes that the world's biggest exporter and main engine of growth for the past two decades is getting back on its feet. Singapore, however, warned of a slow recovery, now expecting full-year GDP to contract between 5% and 7% versus its previous forecast for a 4% to 7% decline. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Keppel Corp drops 9.4%, top loser on Singapore's benchmark, after Temasek abandoned its $3 billion conditional offer for the conglomerate ** Singapore's top gainers include Venture Corp Ltd and Singapore Airlines Ltd, up 7.3% and 3.7%, respectively ** Indonesian 3-year benchmark yields down 5.7 basis points to 5.258% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0347 GMT COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS RIC DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD % Japan -0.10 +2.40 1.70 -4.00 China +0.17 +0.19 0.33 11.16 India +0.00 -4.69 0.00 -7.38 Indonesia -0.30 -5.15 0.54 -17.68 Malaysia -0.12 -2.60 0.27 -0.81 Philippines +0.22 +3.47 0.81 -23.50 S.Korea +0.15 -2.31 1.67 10.40 Singapore +0.07 -2.06 0.21 -20.85 Taiwan +0.42 +2.41 -0.27 7.18 Thailand +0.03 -3.86 1.07 -15.42 (Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)