* Indonesia stocks hit record high
* Thai baht, Taiwan dollar notch gains
* China leaves benchmark lending rates unchanged

By Archishma Iyer and Sherin Sunny
       Aug 20 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah led gains among
emerging Asian currencies on Tuesday and its stocks hit a record
high, while investors focused on the Jackson Hole symposium
later this week where the Fed could offer further hints on rate
cuts. 
    The MSCI International Emerging Market Currency Index
 rose 0.2% to touch a fresh record high, while
the Indonesian rupiah gained as much as 0.5% to trade at
15,470 per dollar, hitting its highest since early January. 
    "We view the Asian currency rebound as a recovery of the
losses from the Fed’s 'high for longer' rates stance in the
first half of this year," senior FX Strategist Philip Wee from
DBS wrote in a client note. 
    "There is scope for the South Korean won, Philippines peso
and Indonesian rupiah to play catch up in recovering this year’s
losses," he added.  
    Other currencies such as the Malaysian ringgit,
Taiwan dollar, Philippines peso and Thailand
baht traded between flat and 0.4% higher. 
    Investors will close watch the Jackson Hole symposium later
this week, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is likely to
acknowledge the possibility of a rate cut in the September
meeting. 
    Such a move could boost riskier Asian assets and drive a
weakening trend in the dollar, with inflation also easing in
most emerging Asian economies.
    The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against
six major currencies, drifted lower overnight to 101.95,
although it stayed steady during Asian hours. 
    "(EM Asia) central banks have room to cut interest rates.
However, they are not in a hurry as they are avoiding capital
flow and exchange rate volatility and will likely only ease once
U.S. policy interest rates begin easing," analysts from S&P
Global Ratings said in a note. 
    Central banks in Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea are set
meet this week, where all three are expected to stand pat on
rates, contrasting with the Philippines' central bank decision
to slash its main policy rate last week.  
    Moreover, inflation prints from Singapore and Malaysia
during the week are likely to set the tone for their respective
central banks' stances on rate cuts. 
    Elsewhere, China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged
as expected. The yuan traded flat while stocks
 fell almost 1%. 
    Among Asian shares, the Jakarta benchmark advanced
as much as 0.9% to a record high, while Manila stocks
climbed about 1.7%, nestled near their early April highs. 
    Others such as Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei
 and Seoul traded between 0.1% and 0.8% higher. 
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Indonesia's benchmark 10-year bond yield at 6.693% 
    ** China and Vietnam sign 14 deals from rail to crocodiles
after leaders meet
    ** Parties backing Indonesia's Prabowo close ranks to thwart
rival's Jakarta governor bid
    
    
             Asian stocks and currencies at 0410 GMT  
 COUNTRY      FX RIC           FX  FX YTD    INDEX  STOCKS  STOCKS
                          DAILY %       %            DAILY   YTD %
                                                         %  
 Japan                      -0.25   -4.00             2.16   14.08
 China                      -0.10   -0.67            -0.98   -3.69
 India                      +0.01   -0.78             0.24   13.34
 Indonesia                  +0.34   -0.63             0.68    3.37
 Malaysia                   +0.18   +5.03            -0.15   13.17
 Philippines                +0.02   -2.14             0.88    7.76
 S.Korea                    +0.10   -3.40             0.75    1.47
 Singapore                  -0.09   +0.77             0.66    4.25
 Taiwan                     +0.37   -3.69             0.11   25.11
 Thailand                   +0.26   -0.34             0.44   -6.12
 

 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer and Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru;
Editing by Stephen Coates)