EMERGING MARKETS-Taiwan leads gains among Asian shares, most Asian currencies edge higher

* Philippine stocks snap 3-day rally * Malaysia reports record spike in COVID-19 cases * Thai stocks up for 3rd day By Arundhati Dutta May 28 (Reuters) - Taiwan led Asia's emerging equity markets higher on Friday, as investors cheered more U.S. economic data pointing toward a strong recovery, while the region's currencies held onto gains ahead of inflation data. The Taiwan dollar and the South Korean won led gains against the greenback, even as the dollar and U.S. bond yields rose after a report that President Joe Biden will announce on Friday a $6 trillion budget for 2022. "(Asia markets) follow optimism around U.S. economic data boosting the recovery theme and may potentially spur some catch-up growth in Asia ...they have been lagging in terms of returns performance," said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG. On Thursday, data showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week. "This (jobless data) denotes a healing labour market, " he said, adding that unveiling of U.S .budget may also support sentiment in Asia. U.S. inflation data due at 1230 GMT on Friday will also be a big focus, as a high reading could fuel expectations of policy tightening by the Federal Reserve sooner rather than later. Taiwanese stocks jumped 1.5%, hitting their highest in over two weeks. The island's first batch of 150,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses out of more than 5 million ordered from Moderna Inc is set to arrive on Friday. Thai stocks jumped 0.5%, extending gains to a third session. The country said it planned additional measures to retain jobs and boost domestic consumption, as it struggles with a severe third wave of infections. Singaporean stocks were up for a sixth session, while Indonesian equities extended gains to a third day. However, Malaysian stocks dropped as much as 0.8%, and was headed for its worst day in a week. The country is still grappling with high infections and on Thursday reported 7,857 new coronavirus cases, the third straight day of record infections and 59 deaths. "A complete nationwide lockdown cannot be ruled out, with some state rulers urging the Federal government to do this, " said Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa, analysts at brokerage ING. Philippine shares slipped after a stellar three-day rally that saw the benchmark add over 8%. HIGHLIGHTS **Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 3 basis points at 6.475% **Malaysia's 3-year benchmark yield is down 0.5 basis points at 2.025%​​ **Top losers in Malaysia are Maxis Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0332 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD % % Japan -0.11 -6.08 <.N2 1.97 6.26 25> China EC> India +0.00 +0.65 <.NS 0.00 9.70 EI> Indonesi -0.10 -1.82 <.JK 0.22 -2.08 a SE> Malaysia +0.00 -2.85 <.KL -0.54 -2.57 SE> Philippi +0.10 +0.31 <.PS -0.49 -7.11 nes I> S.Korea 11> Singapor +0.02 -0.20 <.ST 0.73 12.10 e I> Taiwan +0.35 +2.73 <.TW 1.53 14.41 II> Thailand -0.03 -4.28 <.SE 0.47 9.74 TI> (Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)