EMERGING MARKETS-Thai baht little changed after rate hike; Asian FX retreat

* BoT hikes rates by a widely expected 25 bps * Currencies, stocks across Asia fall By Upasana Singh Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Thai baht was largely unchanged on Wednesday after the country's central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points amid inflationary risks and post-election political uncertainty. The baht fell 0.3%, while equities in Bangkok were up 0.1%. The Bank of Thailand's decision was widely expected by markets and the statement was not really hawkish. Moreover, the news of more political uncertainty with the government is limiting the baht's gains, said Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank. Thailand's Move Forward Party is no longer part of an eight-party coalition hoping to form the next government after a May general election, the leader of a party in the alliance said prior to the rate decision. The parliament of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy is scheduled to meet on Aug. 4 to try again to pick a prime minister as a political stalemate drags on more than two months after the election. Other Asian emerging currencies and stocks were down, as sentiment was hit by ratings agency Fitch's downgrade of the United States' top credit rating. The dollar index rose 0.2% following the release of relatively strong economic data, although it struggled to make headway after the Fitch news. South Korea's won weakened the most among its peers as it depreciated 1.1%. Stocks in Seoul slumped 1.9%. The Malaysian ringgit and Indonesia's rupiah fell 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Equities in the two countries dropped 0.5% each. Meanwhile, investors are also focused on pledges of stimulus by Chinese authorities as the world's second-largest economy and the region's biggest trading partner looks to shore up a faltering economy. The People's Bank of China said on Tuesday the country will lower financing costs for firms, stabilise market expectations and support the property sector in coming months. The yuan eased 0.1%, while equities dipped 0.9%. "We can expect consolidation in USD/Asia to continue, led of course by the yuan, which is doing its best to establish a stable footing," analysts at UOB said in a note. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Thailand's Pheu Thai party will nominate real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin for the next prime ministerial vote in parliament, a party official said ** The Bank of Japan's decision last week to tweak its bond yield control policy was aimed at making its massive stimulus more sustainable, not a prelude to an exit from ultra-low interest rates, its deputy governor Shinichi Uchida said The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against the dollar at 0755 GMT. COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % DAILY YTD % % Japan +0.46 -8.10 -2.30 25.34 China -0.09 -3.95 -0.89 5.58 India -0.38 +0.18 -1.05 7.85 Indonesia -0.40 +2.60 -0.46 0.06 Malaysia -0.57 -3.15 -0.46 -3.41 Philippines -0.47 +0.92 -1.68 -1.27 S.Korea -1.13 -2.62 -1.90 16.99 Singapore -0.10 +0.16 -1.33 2.39 Taiwan -0.35 -2.91 -1.85 19.49 Thailand -0.32 +0.71 0.06 -6.70 (Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)