* Philippine peso among top gainers
* Thailand shares post best day since July 31
* Bank Indonesia to stand pat on interest rates -poll

By Navya Mittal
       August 22 (Reuters) - The Philippine peso was among the
top gainers in Asian currencies on Tuesday after the central
bank said it could intervene in the foreign exchange markets to
support the currency. 
    The Philippine peso strengthened by 0.3% and the Thai
baht rose marginally while the Singapore dollar
gained 0.2%. 
    The Philippine central bank could intervene to prevent a
repeat of last year's slump in the peso to 60 to the dollar,
with the currency having weakened since mid-July, to hit on
Aug.14 its lowest level since November.
    "The underlying downward trend of the peso remains intact as
long as it is safely confined below the 56.35 to 56.95
resistance levels," said Michael Ricafort, chief economist at
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.
    Following suit, Thailand's central bank also flagged that it
may step in to limit any excessive volatility in the baht
currency.  
    The Thai currency has been volatile since the May 14
election that resulted in political deadlock. But Tuesday's
return of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra from 17
years in self-exile coincides with a bid by his political allies
to form a new government with some of their biggest rivals.
    The U.S. dollar index weakened 0.1% to 103.2 by 0432
GMT, supporting currencies in the region.
    Traders are bracing for the U.S Federal Reserve's annual
symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which starts on Friday, amid
expectations that central banks could keep rates higher for
longer.
    "It's a very difficult week running up to a meeting where
you feel that strategically, he (Fed Chair Jerome Powell) needs
to continue to sound hawkish but at the same time there is
growing groundswell of opinion within the Fed saying 'Let's not
overdo it,'" said Rob Carnell, ING's Asia-Pacific head of
research. 
    "(Powell) has a tendency even when he wants to give a
hawkish speech, ending up giving a dovish one. So yeah, I
wouldn't be putting a lot of money on the table ahead of this
one." 
    Most Asian stocks gained, with shares in Thailand
climbing 0.7% for their best day since July 31. Equities in
Manila slipped more than 0.6%, however.
    Jakarta's benchmark index rose 0.6% while the
currency fell marginally after a Reuters poll showed Bank
Indonesia will keep its key interest rate steady at 5.75% for a 
seventh straight meeting on Thursday.
     
    HIGHLIGHTS 
    ** Thailand's Pheu Thai joins military rivals in bid to form
11-party government 
    ** Malaysia may sue Goldman Sachs over 1MDB scandal -PM
Anwar
    ** POLL-Bank of Korea seen on hold for rest of year, to cut
rates early in 2024 
     
  Asia stock indexes and                            
 currencies at 0429 GMT                        
 COUNTRY  FX RIC        FX    FX  INDE  STOCK  STOCK
                     DAILY   YTD     X      S  S YTD
                         %     %        DAILY      %
                                            %  
 Japan               +0.12  -10.  <.N2  0.75   23.67
                              20  25>          
 China                       1  EC>          
 India               +0.05  -0.4  <.NS   0.23   7.37
                               2  EI>          
 Indones             -0.05  +1.5  <.JK   0.61   0.84
 ia                            5  SE>          
 Malaysi             +0.00  -5.3  <.KL   0.33  -2.69
 a                             2  SE>          
 Philipp             +0.28  -0.8  <.PS  -0.64  -4.82
 ines                          5  I>           
 S.Korea                     2  11>          
 Singapo             +0.12  -1.1  <.ST  -0.07  -3.06
 re                            8  I>           
 Taiwan              +0.10  -3.8  <.TW   0.53  16.49
                               4  II>          
 Thailan             +0.01  -1.5  <.SE   0.67  -7.94
 d                             2  TI>          
 
    
 (Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Additional reporting
by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)