* Singapore stocks at more than two-month high
* Thai baht on track for biggest quarterly jump in five
quarters
* Taiwan dollar reaches more than six-month high

By Echha Jain
       Dec 28 (Reuters) - Most Asian emerging market stocks
rose on Thursday, while the Taiwanese dollar and the South
Korean won led modest gains in the region's currencies, as
growing bets of U.S. interest rate cuts further boosted
investors' risk appetite.
    Shares in Singapore jumped 1.5% to hit their highest
level since Oct 12. Equities in Kuala Lumpur, Manila
 and Seoul added between 0.2% and 1.1%.
    In currency markets, the Taiwanese dollar
strengthened 0.6%, hitting its highest level since June 16 and
was on track to record its biggest quarterly gain since March
2017. The South Korean won also added 0.5%.
    Thailand's baht strengthened 0.4% to hit its
highest level since July 31. It is also in track to record its
biggest quarterly jump in five quarters. Equities in
Bangkok advanced 0.4%.
    Emerging Asian assets have been gaining ground heading into
the year-end as the greenback tumbles to multi-month lows.
    Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank,
said he expected emerging market currencies would perform "quite
well" in 2024 due to further weakness in the dollar because the
U.S. economy could enter a recession around the second quarter,
leading to at least six to seven rate cuts.
    However, he added that fears of a recession could trigger a
sell-off across emerging market assets, and they could
underperform in the near term during periods of risk aversion.
    Investor focus remains on the timing of interest rate cuts
by the Federal Reserve, with markets pricing in a 89% chance of
a cut in March 2024, according to CME FedWatch tool. 
    Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets,
said he was not sure if the recent rally in Asian emerging
markets currencies would last for long in the new year. 
    "We think that the market's expectation for Fed rate cuts to
start in Q1 is really overdone," he said.
    Market attention now turns to a stream of data including
U.S. initial jobless claims and Thailand's trade data due later
in the day and South Korea's inflation figures on Friday.
     
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** The Chinese government threatened to place further trade
sanctions on Taiwan if the ruling party adheres to supporting
independence
    ** Thailand is planning a larger budget deficit of 713
billion baht ($20.71 billion) for the 2025 fiscal year, the
government said
    **  Vietnam raised 1.798 trillion dong ($73.78 million) on
Wednesday selling government bonds at an auction on the Hanoi
Stock Exchange
    
  Asia stock indexes and                             
 currencies at 0355 GMT                         
 COUNTRY  FX RIC        FX     FX  INDE  STOCK  STOCK
                     DAILY  YTD %     X      S  S YTD
                         %               DAILY      %
                                             %  
 Japan               +0.37  -7.22  <.N2  -0.40  28.55
                                   25>          
 China                           EC>          
 India               +0.10  -0.65  <.NS   0.28  19.94
                                   EI>          
 Indones             +0.06  +0.97  <.JK   0.44   6.23
 ia                                SE>          
 Malaysi             +0.28  -4.64  <.KL   0.23  -2.54
 a                                 SE>          
 Philipp             +0.13  +0.25  <.PS   0.47  -1.12
 ines                              I>           
 S.Korea                         11>          
 Singapo             +0.18  +1.69  <.ST   1.50  -1.01
 re                                I>           
 Taiwan              +0.61  +0.05  <.TW   0.05  26.62
                                   II>          
 Thailan             +0.35  +1.18  <.SE   0.37  -15.1
 d                                 TI>              6
 
    
 (Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)