EMERGING MARKETS-Indonesia's rupiah at near 5-month low on rising U.S. yields

* Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine shares down over 1.5%

* U.S. dollar on track for best month since 2016

* China March PMI expands at the quickest pace in three months

* Rupee declines further

By Nikhil Nainan

March 31 (Reuters) - Indonesia's rupiah tumbled to its weakest level in nearly five months on Wednesday, as rising U.S. bond yields sapped risk appetite for one of the highest-yielding emerging market currencies and pounded the region.

Stocks in Jakarta .JKSE and Kuala Lumpur .KLSE and Manila .PSI fell more than 1.5% and led declines across the continent.

The 10-year yield US10YT=RR was at 1.7211%, ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure spending announcement.

Later in the day, Biden is set to outline how he intends to pay for a $3 trillion to $4 trillion infrastructure plan, which could boost the U.S. recovery. additional spending boost could further support the U.S. dollar," Mizuho said in a note.

The dollar =USD is on track for its best month since 2016, as compared with monthly declines set for many Asian emerging currencies, including the rupiah IDR= and ringgit MYR= .

The International Monetary Fund said strong U.S. growth could help a global economic recovery, but may also cause tighter financial conditions and trigger significant outflows from emerging countries. central bank governor said the country has ample foreign reserves to ensure the rupiah is stable and intends to continue to keep policy loose to support the recovery. see risks that the rupiah could soften further for a period of time," said Wei Liang Chang, an FX strategist at DBS.

"Bank Indonesia may manage rupiah depreciation to limit volatility, but absent a rebound in inflation, policy is likely to remain unchanged."

Jakarta's stock market was also set for its worst month since September after a strong February. That drop is weighing on the first quarter in which it is set for a small decline compared with its best showing since 2009 in the December-ended quarter.

In Malaysia, stocks suffered their sharpest fall in nearly three months, falling as much as 1.8%. They were set to end three straight quarters of gains.

The central bank expects Malaysia's economy to rebound in 2021, compared with a 5.6% contraction - its worst since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998 - in 2020. showing China's manufacturing activity expanding at its quickest pace in three months in March did little to support the region. Shanghai stocks .SSEC fell 0.8%, while the yuan CNY=CFXS gained 0.2%.

In India, where COVID-19 cases are surging, stocks .NSEI fell nearly 1%. The rupee INR=IN weakened 0.5% to its lowest in about a month, following a sharp drop on Tuesday. .BO

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Glove makers Top Glove Corp Bhd TPGC.KL and Hartalega Holdings Bhd HTHB.KL led declines in Malaysia

** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields rise 2 basis points to 6.814%

** Asian countries scramble for vaccine supplies after India export curbs stock indexes and currencies at 0630 GMT COUNTRY

FX RIC

FX

FX

INDEX

STOCKS STOCKS

DAILY % YTD %

DAILY % YTD % Japan

JPY=

-0.33

-6.75 .N225 -0.86

6.32 China

CNY=CFXS +0.16

-0.51 .SSEC -0.61

-1.08 India

INR=IN

-0.16

-0.59 .NSEI -0.73

5.40 Indonesia

IDR=

-0.48

-3.44 .JKSE -1.81

-0.29 Malaysia

MYR=

-0.07

-3.18 .KLSE -1.73

-2.81 Philippines PHP=

-0.04

-1.17 .PSI

-1.57

-9.76 S.Korea

KRW=KFTC +0.16

-4.03 .KS11 -0.28

6.54 Singapore

SGD=

+0.08

-1.92 .STI

-0.32

11.85 Taiwan

TWD=TP

-0.04

-0.16 .TWII -0.75

11.53 Thailand

THB=TH

-0.35

-4.43 .SETI 0.16

9.85