* Taiwan stocks lead gains
* Thai stocks flat after Monday losses, economy outlook cut

By Roushni Nair
       Jan 23 (Reuters) - Equities in Taiwan hit a three-week
high on Tuesday and shares in Malaysia, South Korea, and the
Philippines also gained after an earnings-driven rally helped
the S&P 500 notch up a fresh record high for a second straight
session.
    Stocks in Taipei advanced as much as 0.4% to their
highest level since Jan. 2, while those in Kuala Lumpur
rose 0.6% to a 1-week high. Benchmarks in Seoul and
Manila were up 0.3% and 0.4% by 0428 GMT.
    The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan was up 0.8%, hitting its highest in about
a week, while Tokyo stocks climbed to a 34-year peak
after the central bank stood pat on its ultra-loose monetary
policy. 
    Shares in Thailand were trading flat after losing
nearly 1% in the previous session. The benchmark fell 1% last
week, marking its worst week in three. 
    Thailand's economy is expected to grow 2.8% this year, a
sharp downgrade from a previous projection of 3.2%, the finance
ministry said. 
    Currencies in the region struggled for direction, with the
Chinese yuan and the South Korean won
making the most ground, adding 0.3% each. 
    The yuan was helped by a Bloomberg report that Chinese
policymakers are seeking to mobilise about 2 trillion yuan ($279
billion) as part of a stabilisation fund to buy shares.
    The Singapore dollar and Indonesian rupiah
each climbed 0.2%. 
     "We recommend fading the sell-off in KRW but that aside,
the broader Asia FX spot, vol and skew dynamics are more
consistent with fundamentals than they first appear," Adarsh
Sinha, an analyst at BofA Securities wrote in a note to clients.
    The Malaysian ringgit and the Phillipine peso
largely traded flat. 
    The dollar index dipped 0.1% to 103.30 but was not
too far from an over one-month high of 103.69 hit last week as
traders pare back their expectations for a rate cut by the
Federal Reserve in March.            
    Meanwhile, equities in China hovered near a five-year low
hit in the previous session despite the Bloomberg report. Hong
Kong shares, however, rallied after the country's cabinet
pledged to take more effective measures to stabilise market
confidence.

    
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** South Korea's economy likely grew at slightly slower pace
in Q4 - Poll
    ** Singapore Dec core inflation at 3.3% y/y 
    ** China weighs stock market rescue package backed by $278
bln - Bloomberg News 
    
    
  Asia stock indexes and currencies at                          
 0444 GMT                                                 
 COUNTRY      FX RIC          FX     FX    INDEX  STOCKS  STOCKS
                         DAILY %  YTD %            DAILY   YTD %
                                                       %  
 Japan                     -0.01  -4.75            0.30   10.12
 China                                                   
 India                     -0.05  +0.12             0.50   -0.24
 Indonesia                 -0.16  -1.66            -0.42   -0.76
 Malaysia                  -0.13  -2.96             0.41    2.93
 Philippines               -0.13  -1.67             0.40    2.48
 S.Korea                                                 
 Singapore                 +0.13  -1.57             0.04   -2.77
 Taiwan                    +0.01  -1.96             0.13   -0.52
 Thailand                  -0.10  -4.08             0.05   -3.19
 

    
 (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina
Gibbs)