EMERGING MARKETS-Thai baht gains as markets eye political progress; Asian stocks mixed

(.) * Asian currencies rise, stocks mixed * Thailand's parliament to endorse house speaker later in the day * BNM to leave key interest rate unchanged at July 6 meeting - Reuters poll By Upasana Singh July 4 (Reuters) - The Thai baht led gains among emerging Asian currencies on Tuesday, as investors focussed on the country's political progress, with the parliament expected to endorse the House speaker later in the day. The baht strengthened 0.7%. The currency has depreciated about 3% since May 12, few days before Thailand's opposition parties secured a stunning election win. Veteran politician Wan Muhamad Noor Matha of Thailand's Prachachart Party looked set to be confirmed as speaker of the new House of Representatives after being the only name put forward for the post on Tuesday. The speaker is expected to table a joint session of parliament later this month to decide on a prime minister, which requires the votes of more than half of the 750 members of the bicameral legislature. "Further progress in the appointment of the new PM could bolster investor confidence, supporting equity inflows into Thailand and helping the baht recover its post-election loss," said Wei Liang Chang, a macro strategist at DBS Bank. Other regional currencies rose, with China's yuan appreciating 0.4% and the Philippine peso rising 0.2%. Malaysia's ringgit firmed 0.3%. Markets await Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) policy decision on Thursday, with 22 out of 25 economists polled by Reuters expecting the central bank to hold its key interest rate at 3.00% - its pre-COVID level. "The risk of additional tightening will rise more noticeably, in our view, if inflationary pressures build from the implementation of targeted fuel subsidies," OCBC's senior ASEAN economist Lavanya Venkateswaran said in a note. In South Korea, the won advanced 0.5% after data showed consumer inflation slowed more than expected and hit a 21-month low. However, the Bank of Korea warned core inflation might stay higher than its earlier projection. Stock markets in the region were mixed, with equities in Bangkok jumping 0.7%. Manila and Mumbai edged 0.1% higher, while Malaysia's benchmark index, stocks in Seoul and Singapore fell between 0.1% and 0.4%. HIGHLIGHTS: ** China move to curb chipmaking material exports escalates supply worries ** South Korea sees limited short-term impact from China curbs on chip materials ** Thailand's exports are expected to show between a 0.5% drop and a 1.0% rise this year as global demand remains soft but a weak baht is supportive, according to the Thai shippers' council The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against the dollar at 0638 GMT. COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % DAILY YTD % % Japan +0.18 -9.20 -0.98 +28.08 China +0.38 -4.40 -0.10 +4.91 India +0.02 +0.95 +0.12 +6.85 Indonesia +0.17 +3.80 -0.10 -2.34 Malaysia +0.32 -5.38 -0.34 -6.98 Philippines +0.15 +0.84 +0.06 -0.83 S.Korea +0.51 -2.84 -0.35 +15.96 Singapore +0.13 -0.70 -0.14 -1.50 Taiwan +0.04 -1.32 +0.33 +21.24 Thailand +0.67 -0.99 +0.70 -9.06 (Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)