EMERGING MARKETS-Thai baht, shares drop as political worries simmer

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

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

* Baht hits two-week low

* S.Korea shares set for worst day in almost a month

By Shashwat Awasthi

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Thailand's baht fell and stocks hovered near six-month lows on Thursday amid few signs that political protests in the country would let up, while uncertainty around a new U.S. coronavirus relief deal weighed on most emerging Asian markets.

Thai protesters, who have so far defied a ban on demonstrations, on Wednesday gave Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha a three day deadline to step down or face more protests. baht THB=TH fell 0.4% and its stock market .SETI , the region's worst performer so far this year, gave up another 0.8%, even as the government offered to lift emergency measures in Bangkok and called for de-escalation of tensions. believe the risk of clashes between protesters and royalists is rising," CGS-CIMB's Kasem Prunratanamala said in a note, adding protests were likely to continue in the near-term.

Investors have been dumping Thai stocks of late and the country has already seen record equity outflows so far this year, while analysts have also warned of the risk of an even deeper sell-off. broader Asia, sentiment remained nervy as market participants remained unsure whether U.S. lawmakers would be able to agree on and deliver a new stimulus package soon. between Democrats and White House officials are ongoing but hopes for relief ahead of the Nov 3 elections are fading fast," economists at Dutch bank ING said in a note.

The U.S. dollar steadied as risk appetite waned, leading most emerging Asian currencies to dip between 0.1% and 0.3% against the greenback.

Taiwan's dollar TWD=TP stood out, however, as it firmed 0.9% to continue its bullish rise.

Stocks in South Korea .KS11 fell the most in the region, sliding 1% on dented hopes of a U.S. stimulus bill and a rising domestic coronavirus case count.

Malaysian equities .KLSE also inched lower, but fared slightly better than the rest of the region on the back of some signs of easing political worries.

The biggest party in Malaysia's ruling alliance on Wednesday pledged its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, providing him temporary reprieve following opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's recent claim that he can form a new government. Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields ID10YT=RR are up 1.9 basis points at 6.639%

** Top losers on Thailand's SETI include MFC-Nichada Thani Property Fund MNITu.BK down 13.42%, Apex Development PCL APEX.BK down 12.5% and CPN Retail Growth Leasehold REIT CPNREITu.BK down 6.88%

** In the Philippines, top index gainers are LT Group LTG.PS up 5.55%, San Miguel Corp SMC.PS up 3.53% and Bloomberry Resorts BLOOM.PS up ​3.39%

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0416 GMT

COUNTRY

FX RIC

FX DAILY % FX YTD %

INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %

Japan

JPY=

-0.13

+3.73

.N225

-0.78

-0.85

China

CNY=CFXS

-0.25

+4.44

.SSEC

-0.83

8.10

India

INR=IN

-0.20

-3.19

.NSEI

-0.44

-2.33 Indonesia

IDR=

-0.27

-5.26

.JKSE

-0.39

-19.41 Malaysia

MYR=

-0.14

-1.40

.KLSE

-0.07

-6.13 Philippines

PHP=

-0.13

+4.28

.PSI

0.21

-19.49

S.Korea

KRW=KFTC

-0.29

+1.87

.KS11

-0.96

6.85 Singapore

SGD=

-0.20

-0.90

.STI

-0.22

-21.80

Taiwan

TWD=TP

+0.85

+5.09

.TWII

-0.22

7.10 Thailand

THB=TH

-0.38

-4.41

.SETI

-0.71

-23.55