* Singapore shares rise 2%
* Thai baht hits lowest since Oct 2023
* Indonesia rate decision due on April 24

By Ayushman Ojha
       April 22 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian equities rose
on Monday as investors sought riskier assets as fears of a wider
conflict in the Middle East receded, while currencies were mixed
as the dollar cast a shadow on support from strong inflation and
hawkish Fed comments.
    The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
 rose 0.93% on Monday after declining 4.5% in the
last week, when Mideast tensions heightened from Israel's
retaliatory strike on Iran.
    "The good news for now is that Iranian officials seem to be
downplaying the Israeli response, but the situation is fluid and
tensions can ratchet up quickly," analysts at MUFG wrote.
    Stocks in Singapore rose as much as 2%, while
Malaysian shares added as much as 0.8%. In South Korea,
shares gained up to 1.4%, while Thailand stock
jumped as much as 1.2%.
    Bucking the trend, Indonesian shares slipped 0.8% to
its lowest level since Dec. 1.
    A verdict on two challenges to the outcome of country's
February's presidential election is Monday, after the losing
candidate alleged the state had interfered in favour of winner
Prabowo Subianto.
    Currencies in the region were mixed as the U.S. dollar
stayed near its highs and comments from the Federal Reserve and
hotter than anticipated inflation data last week led to markets
scaling back expectations for rate cuts, not just in the United
States but also in other developed economies.
    "For now, the dominant FX driver in Asia continues to be the
high level of U.S. rates relative to Asia, exacerbated by bouts
of risk aversion, and we'll likely have to see these factors
change to witness a sustained turn in Asian currencies," MUFG
analysts said in a note.
    The Thai baht weakened as much as 0.5% to its
lowest level since October 2023, while Taiwanese dollar
fell 0.3% to its lowest level since 2016.
    The Malaysian ringgit and the Philippine peso
were largely unchanged on Monday.
    The Indonesian rupiah gained 0.3%. Indonesia's
central bank on Friday intervened "more boldly to maintain
market confidence" as the rupiah weakened.
    Bank Indonesia is set to announce its policy rate decision
on Wednesday.
    Analysts at Barclays expect the central bank to begin
cutting in first quarter of 2025. However, for April 24, they
expect a rate increase, "possibly not just by 25bp but even up
to 50bp".
    "We think a hike is likely to have more value in terms of
its signalling effect rather than its immediate impact on the
IDR," they wrote.
    Meanwhile, data from Seoul showed exports for the first 20
days of April rose 11.1% from the same period the year before,
while Taiwan reports March export orders later in the day.
    Additionally, the Vietnamese dong was largely
unchanged, hovering near its lowest level on record touched
during last week.
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Bank of Korea chief watching Middle East tensions for FX,
growth outlook reviews
    ** China leaves benchmark lending rates unchanged, in line
with expectations
    ** Indonesia court to rule on petitions seeking presidential
election re-run
    
    
 Asia stock indexes and                             
 currencies at 0422 GMT                        
 COUNTRY  FX RIC        FX    FX  INDE  STOCK  STOCK
                     DAILY   YTD     X      S  S YTD
                         %     %        DAILY      %
                                            %  
 Japan               -0.05  -8.8  <.N2  +0.44  11.26
                               2  25>          
 China                       1  EC>          
 India               +0.05  -0.2  <.NS   0.45   2.37
                               6  EI>          
 Indones             +0.22  -5.0  <.JK  -0.70  -3.23
 ia                            6  SE>          
 Malaysi             -0.02  -4.0  <.KL   0.60   7.03
 a                             2  SE>          
 Philipp             +0.11  -3.5  <.PS   0.45   0.34
 ines                          2  I>           
 S.Korea                     7  11>          
 Singapo             +0.06  -3.0  <.ST   1.38  -0.61
 re                            5  I>           
 Taiwan              -0.30  -5.7  <.TW  -0.53   8.33
                               5  II>          
 Thailan             -0.43  -7.5  <.SE   1.12  -4.87
 d                             6  TI>          
 

    
 (Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru)