EMERGING MARKETS-Asian markets mixed; Indonesia c.bank meeting eyed

* Indian stocks hit more than 2-1/2 month lows

* Taiwan c.bank says may hike growth forecast

* Thai stocks gain around 1% despite virus surge

By Harish Sridharan

April 19 (Reuters) - Indonesian stocks eased on Monday ahead of a central bank meeting the following day, while a surge in coronavirus cases pushed Indian shares .NSEI down nearly 3% in early trade. .BO/

Currency moves in Asia were muted on Monday amid a lack of major catalysts and ahead of a slew of economic data from across the region this week.

Thai, Taiwanese and Singapore .STI shares gained, while those in Malaysia .KLSE and the Philippines .PSI edged lower.

Fresh waves of COVID-19 infections in South and Southeast Asia have sapped risk appetite in recent days, while recent weakness in currencies like the Russian rouble RUB= and the Turkish lira TRY= has weighed more broadly on emerging markets.

Indonesia's stocks .JKSE and the rupiah IDR= will be in focus early this week as Bank Indonesia (BI) reviews its policy settings to support economic recovery and maintain stability in financial markets.

Analysts expect BI to leave its key policy rate unchanged at a record low for the rest of the year, according to a Reuters poll. The bank has held rates steady in recent times to support the rupiah amid global market uncertainty. BI maintains the currency is "stable" compared with its emerging market peers, it has already depreciated 3.5% against the U.S. dollar this year and is among Southeast Asia's worst performers. currency stability is BI's key mandate, further policy rate cuts look unlikely this year, especially given that the economy is also showing a cyclical recovery," Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS ) analysts said in a note.

Indonesia has also struggled to sell its bonds as signs of a robust economic recovery in the United States has driven U.S. Treasury yields higher and moved capital away from one of the highest-yielding debt instruments in emerging markets.

Yields on the U.S. 10-year benchmark US10YT=RR eased last week as markets bought into the U.S. Federal Reserve's accommodative policy stance, but Morgan Stanley analysts believe the outlook for Indonesian bonds remains tough.

"Demand at INDOGB auctions has still been weak, and we think that, looking ahead, external factors such as US yields will likely remain uncertain," they said.

"While the rates differentials between Indonesia and the U.S. are still wide, without BI hiking rates, the bonds and IDR would still face sell-off pressure."

Elsewhere, the Taiwanese dollar TWD=TP strengthened and equities .TWII rose after the island nation's central bank said it may hike its annual growth forecast. Thailand, stocks .SETI gained nearly 1%, even as the tourism-reliant nation reported another record rise in virus cases on Sunday. reported a record rise in coronavirus infections of 273,810 on Monday, taking its overall case load past 15 million, second only to the United States globally. Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 6.3 basis points at 6.443%

** Top gainer on the Thailand's SETI .SETI is Team Precision PCL TEAM.BK , up 16.02%

** Top Glove Corporation Bhd TPGC.KL down 2.51% and is the biggest loser on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index .KLSE

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0450 GMT

COUNTRY

FX RIC

FX DAILY % FX YTD %

INDEX STOCKS STOCK

DAILY % S YTD

% Japan

JPY=

+0.11

-4.98 .N225 #VALUE! #VALU

E! China

CNY=CFXS

-0.07

+0.04 .SSEC

1.30 -0.05 India

INR=IN

-0.63

-2.35 .NSEI

-2.53 1.90 Indonesia

IDR=

+0.07

-3.51 .JKSE

-0.54 1.25 Malaysia

MYR=

-0.10

-2.62 .KLSE

-0.52 -1.68 Philippines

PHP=

-0.12

-0.76 .PSI

-0.42 -9.41 S.Korea

KRW=KFTC

-0.24

-2.93 .KS11

0.39 11.75 Singapore

SGD=

+0.10

-0.90 .STI

0.23 12.85 Taiwan

TWD=TP

+0.48

+0.98 .TWII

0.51 17.07 Thailand

THB=TH

-0.03

-4.16 .SETI

1.21 8.16