EMERGING MARKETS-Thai baht muted after central bank holds rates; stocks rise

* Bank of Thailand keeps rates at 2.5% * Traders eye US CPI data due later in day * Several Asian markets closed for holiday (Updates at 0735 GMT) By Archishma Iyer April 10 (Reuters) - Thailand's baht drifted in a narrow range on Wednesday after the central bank held interest rates steady as expected, while other emerging Asian currencies such as Taiwan's dollar and the Indian rupee edged higher. Markets in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Jakarta were closed for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The Thai baht was trading at 36.325 per dollar as of 0735 GMT, compared with the previous close of 36.30. It is one of the worst-performing emerging Asia currencies, having lost nearly 6% on a year-to-date basis. Stocks rose about 0.6%. "Nominal interest rate differentials with the U.S. matter for Asia FX and the Thai baht is likely to underperform peers in the near term as it is among the lower-yielding currencies," said Aditya Sharma, an emerging markets strategist with NatWest Markets. The Bank of Thailand kept its policy rate at 2.50% for the third straight meeting, while warding off government pressure to lower borrowing costs. It flagged that uncertainties in the Thai economy remained high. South-east Asia's second-largest economy is currently grappling with a sluggish recovery, and the government has stepped up pressure on the central bank to slash rates. "They (central bank) might want to wait for the first-quarter GDP data, in order to able to figure out how to adjust monetary policy going forward," said Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist with Krung Thai Bank. The Singapore and South Korea central banks are expected to keep their respective policy stances unchanged on Friday. Separately, Thailand's digital wallet handout scheme will be rolled out in the fourth quarter of this year and will be financed using the 2024 and 2025 fiscal budget, the country's prime minister said. Globally, traders are waiting for the all-important U.S. CPI data as they seek more clues on where interest rates might be headed later this year. Consensus shows a rise in March headline inflation to 3.4% year-on-year, from 3.2% in February. India's rupee and shares were up 0.2% each, while the Taiwan dollar rose about 0.3%. India, Asia's third-largest economy, is set to enter parliamentary elections next week. South Korean markets were closed on Wednesday due to legislative elections to elect a 300-member parliament. Separately, China stocks fell about 0.7% after ratings agency Fitch cut its outlook on China's sovereign credit, citing risks to the country's public finances. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Philippines president says trilateral summit with U.S., Japan to include South China Sea cooperation ** Vietnam aims to start work on high-speed rail lines to China by 2030 ** Taiwan appoints ruling party's former chairman as new premier Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0735 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY YTD % DAILY % YTD % % Japan -0.01 -7.07 -0.48 18.28 China +0.01 -1.86 -0.70 1.76 India +0.19 +0.06 0.23 4.43 Indonesia - -2.81 - 0.19 Malaysia - -3.27 - 6.80 Philippines - -2.02 - 4.51 S.Korea - -4.94 - 1.88 Singapore - -1.87 - -0.08 Taiwan +0.28 -3.97 -0.16 15.80 Thailand -0.07 -5.95 0.63 -0.42 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul and Subhranshu Sahu)