EMERGING MARKETS-Asian stocks, currencies drop as virus spike threatens recovery

* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

* Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3lKhL5I

* Philippine shares retreat from near nine-month highs

* S. Korean shares end lower for a second straight day

* Malaysia's ringgit pressured by drop in oil prices

By Shriya Ramakrishnan

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Stocks and currencies across Asia's emerging markets slipped on Tuesday as a spike in COVID-19 cases and restrictions globally took some shine off upbeat factory output data from the world's second largest economy, China.

Bourses in the Philippines .PSI , Taiwan .TWII and Thailand .SETI were down between 0.5% and 1%, as rising infections in Japan and South Korea, as well as tighter curbs in New York and London dented risk sentiment.

Markets across the region did not react much to industrial output data from China, which grew in line with expectations in November, expanding for an eighth straight month as an economic recovery gathered pace. continue to straddle that fence between vaccine hope and economic reality," said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at trading firm Axi.

"The year-end playbooks are coming out a bit earlier. It will effectively be the last week of liquidity this year, culminating with expiry and rebalances on Friday."

Central bank meetings in Indonesia and the Philippines will be in focus in what is likely to be the last action-packed week of the year for emerging Asian markets.

Analysts at ING expect both the banks to keep rates on hold and adopt a wait-and-see approach for recovery to gain traction after aggressive policy easing this year.

South Korean shares .KS11 fell 0.2% and the won KRW=KFTC dipped, as the country reported another jump in new COVID-19 cases on Monday.

South Korea's prime minister pleaded with residents on Tuesday to abide by social distancing rules to avoid bigger restrictions.

Stocks in Bangkok .SETI shed about 0.5%, as the financial ministry said Thailand's economy could grow less than a forecast of 4.5% next year. currency markets, the Malaysian ringgit MYR= weakened 0.3% as crude prices fell due to concerns about a slow recovery in fuel demand and a flare-up in tensions in the Middle East. Malaysia is a net exporter of oil. O/R

While equity and bond inflows have lifted Asian currencies from pandemic lows in March, excessive strength in currencies of some export-reliant economies has led to discomfort among authorities.

A Bank of Korea board member on Tuesday expressed the need to closely monitor rapidly increasing volatility in the foreign exchange market. remains room for IDR (Indonesian rupiah) and MYR (Malaysian ringgit) to catch up in terms of appreciation, given that the official climate is more welcoming of local currency strength," analysts at OCBC Bank wrote in a note on Monday.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Thailand's 10-year government bond yields are down 4 basis points at 1.22%

** Top losers on Thailand's SETI .SETI include Boutique Newcity PCL BTNC.BK down -23.97% at 11.1 baht; Bangkok Post PCL POST.BK down 12% at 1.1 baht

** In the Philippines, top index losers are International Container Terminal Services Inc ICT.PS down 3.04% at 121.2 pesos; Megaworld Corp MEG.PS down 2.51% at 3.98 pesos

Asia stock indexes and

currencies at 0753 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC

FX

FX

INDEX STOCK STOCKS

DAILY YTD %

S YTD %

%

DAILY

%

Japan

JPY=

-0.02 +4.38 .N225 -0.17 12.81 China

CNY=CFXS -0.03 +6.29 .SSEC -0.06 10.40 India

INR=IN

-0.11 -3.09 .NSEI -0.14 11.26 Indonesi IDR=

-0.21 -1.56 .JKSE -0.15 -4.70 a

Malaysia MYR=

-0.27 +0.66 .KLSE

0.15

4.82 Philippi PHP=

+0.02 +5.45 .PSI

-0.74 -7.52 nes

S.Korea

KRW=KFTC -0.14 +5.77 .KS11 -0.19 25.44 Singapor SGD=

-0.02 +0.71 .STI

-0.30 -11.58 e

Taiwan

TWD=TP

+1.05 +6.93 .TWII -1.00 17.27 Thailand THB=TH

-0.02 -0.50 .SETI -0.54 -7.07