* Thai baht leads losses among Asian currencies
* BI and BSP to announce interest rate decisions on Thursday
* Stocks in Manila hit lowest level since Oct 2022

By Upasana Singh
       Sept 19 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were mostly weaker
on Tuesday, while equity markets fell as market participants
braced for a slew of monetary policy decisions from global and
emerging market central banks including Indonesia and the
Philippines. 
    The Philippine peso eased 0.2% while Indonesia's
rupiah, among the best performing currencies in the
region so far this year, fell 0.1%.
    The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Bank Indonesia
(BI) are expected to keep their interest rates steady on
Thursday and for the rest of the year, according to Reuters'
polls.
    "For BSP, our base case looks for a hold but to some extent,
we do not rule out the risk of a hike, as inflation
reaccelerated to above its 2 – 4% band," said Christopher Wong,
FX strategist at OCBC. 
    All eyes this week are focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve's
two-day policy meeting where markets expect interest rates to
remain unchanged, although any hints on the central bank's
outlook on rates will be closely watched.
    Meanwhile, Bank of Japan (BOJ) is scheduled to announce its
policy decision on Friday. The central bank has come under close
scrutiny recently after Governor Kazuo Ueda stoked speculation
of an imminent move away from ultra-loose policy.
    "The BOJ could provide guidance on the time frame and
indicators that they are watching for exiting its current
negative interest rate policy regime," said Wei Liang Chang, FX
and credit strategist  at DBS Bank. 
    "Still, the BOJ should maintain its stance of keeping policy
accommodative for the time being."
    Oil prices rose for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday
amid tighter supplies, further weighing on the currencies of
Asian net energy importers such as Thailand.
    The baht depreciated 0.3%. The Singapore dollar
 and Malaysia's ringgit fell 0.1% each.
    Stock markets across Asia came under pressure from concerns
over the Chinese property sector. Equities in Manila were
leading losses as they dropped 1.3% to hit a 10-month low.
    Shares in South Korea and Singapore retreated
0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
    Markets in India were closed for a public holiday.
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:
    ** Data showed Malaysia's exports fell 18.6% in August,
faster than expected
    ** The depreciation pressure on the Chinese yuan against the
U.S. dollar is temporary, state media said, noting its value
against major trading partner currencies is stable
    ** Japanese industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the
Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy, which was aimed at
"buying time" to push through structural reforms, will
eventually end as inflation accelerates
    
    The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0439 GMT.
    
 COUNTRY   FX RIC          FX     FX  INDE  STOCKS  STOCKS
                      DAILY %  YTD %     X   DAILY   YTD %
                                                 %  
 Japan                  -0.12  -11.2  <.N2  -0.89   27.35
                                   7  25>           
 China                               EC>           
 Indonesi               -0.07  +1.24  <.JK    0.27    1.52
 a                                    SE>           
 Malaysia               -0.11  -6.22  <.KL   -0.02   -2.52
                                      SE>           
 Philippi               -0.21  -1.92  <.PS   -1.29   -7.93
 nes                                  I>            
 S.Korea                             11>           
 Singapor               -0.09  -1.80  <.ST   -0.50   -0.13
 e                                    I>            
 Taiwan                 -0.07  -4.04  <.TW   -0.08   18.02
                                      II>           
 Thailand               -0.28  -3.31  <.SE    0.18   -8.29
                                      TI>           
 
 (Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln
Feast.)