* Thai baht leads losses
* Philippines peso drops after wider trade deficit
* Argentina slashes interest rates to 80%

By Archishma Iyer
       March 12 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were subdued on Tuesday, with
the Thai baht leading the laggards, as traders refrained from making fresh bets
ahead of a key U.S. inflation report that could influence the Federal Reserve's
rate trajectory. 
    Investors are laser focused on the consumer price index data expected later
in the day, with a forecast monthly increase of 0.4%. Any sudden upside
surprises could potentially lead to investors exiting riskier assets. 
    Ahead of the release, a Reuters poll showed that the Fed is likely to slash
rates in June. 
    At 0410 GMT, the dollar index - which measures the strength of the greenback
against six major rivals - was at 102.82.  
    In Asia, Thailand's baht led the laggards for the day, dropping
about 0.3%, while the Taiwan dollar fell modestly. 
    The Philippines peso also slipped marginally. The archipelago
nation's trade deficit widened slightly in January to $4.22 billion from $4.18
billion the prior month, according to preliminary official data. 
    "While the peso has outperformed recently, we continue to see PHP
underperforming through 2024 as the current account deficit remains large and FX
valuations are not attractive," Michael Wan, a FX strategist with MUFG, said in
a client note. 
    The peso is currently trading flat on a year-to-date basis, while the only
emerging Asian currency trading in positive territory is the Indian rupee
, which has gained about 0.6%. 
    Other currencies such as the Singapore dollar, Malaysian ringgit
 and South Korean won traded flat.  
    Elsewhere in emerging markets, Argentina, which has been undergoing an
economic crisis, slashed its interest rates to 80% from 100%. The country's peso
 last traded at 848.00 per dollar. 
    In Asia, most markets perked up, with stocks in Seoul, Kuala Lumpur
, Manila and Singapore trading between 0.2% and 0.4%
higher. 
    Taiwan shares rose about 0.9%, not far from a record high posted
last week that was propelled by enthusiasm across global artificial intelligence
stocks. 
    "We maintain our view that the AI-wave, which is driving the tech cycle's
turn in Korea and Taiwan, is likely to have fewer spillovers into South East
Asia's economies, which serve the downstreaming services for production of
legacy chips," Barclays analysts wrote. 
    Indonesia markets remained closed for a public holiday. 
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Philippines' says China's maritime-related proposals run contrary to its
interests
    ** BOJ chief Ueda slightly tones down optimism on economy
    ** China Vanke's bonds eased after Moody's starts ratings review
    
    
 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0410 GMT
 COUNTRY      FX RIC           FX     FX     INDEX  STOCKS  STOCKS
                          DAILY %  YTD %             DAILY   YTD %
                                                         %  
 Japan                      -0.29  -4.28             -0.49   15.45
 China                      +0.05  -1.11             -0.47    2.66
 India                      +0.03  +0.57              0.08    2.85
 Indonesia                      -  -1.22                 -    1.50
 Malaysia                   +0.02  -1.92              0.16    6.36
 Philippines                -0.13  +0.01              0.52    7.10
 S.Korea                    -0.02  -1.72              0.44    0.61
 Singapore                  +0.00  -0.84              0.26   -2.89
 Taiwan                     -0.13  -2.29              0.86   10.96
 Thailand                   -0.28  -3.76              0.11   -2.41
 

 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)