* S. Korean won, Thai baht lead gains
* Thailand's parliament to endorse house speaker later in
the day
* Malaysia c.bank to hold key rate at 3.00% - Reuters poll

By Upasana Singh
       July 4 (Reuters) - Most Asian emerging currencies rose
on Tuesday, while investors turned their attention to Thailand's
political progress with the parliament expected to endorse the
house speaker later in the day.
    The Thai baht, among the top gainers in the region,
strengthened 0.4%.
    Late on Monday, in what is being seen as a compromise
between the Move Forward party and the Pheu Thai party, the
alliance nominated veteran politician Wan Muhamad Noor Matha for
the house speaker post.
    The speaker is expected to table a joint session of
parliament later this month to decide on a prime minister, which
requires the votes of more than half of the 750 members of the
bicameral legislature.
    "Further progress in the appointment of the new PM could
bolster investor confidence, supporting equity inflows into
Thailand and helping the baht recover its post-election loss,"
said Wei Liang Chang, a macro strategist at DBS Bank. 
    Meanwhile, Malaysia's central bank will leave its key
interest rate unchanged at 3.00% on Thursday and keep it there
for the rest of the year, marking the end of its modest
tightening cycle, a Reuters poll found. 
    The ringgit, which is among the worst performing
currencies in the region this year, firmed 0.1% on Tuesday.
    "The risk of additional tightening will rise more
noticeably, in our view, if inflationary pressures build from
the implementation of targeted fuel subsidies," OCBC's senior
ASEAN economist Lavanya Venkateswaran said in a note.
    South Korea's won advanced 0.5% after data showed
the country's consumer inflation slowed more than expected and
hit a 21-month low. However, Bank of Korea warned core inflation
might stay higher than its earlier projection.
    Elsewhere, the Chinese yuan rose 0.2%, while the
Indian rupee and the Singapore dollar
appreciated 0.1% each. 
    Indonesia's rupiah was trading flat.
    Stock markets in the region were broadly lower, with
equities in Kuala Lumpur falling 0.4% to lead losses.
Shares in Seoul and Singapore dipped 0.2% each.
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:
    ** China to restrict exports of chipmaking materials as U.S.
mulls new curbs
    ** MISC down 1.4% and IHH Healthcare
down 1.7% lead losses on Malaysia's benchmark index 

    The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0343 GMT.

 COUNTRY      FX RIC           FX     FX    INDEX  STOCKS  STOCKS
                          DAILY %  YTD %            DAILY   YTD %
                                                        %  
 Japan                      +0.02  -9.35           -0.91   28.17
 China                      +0.16  -4.61             0.06    5.07
 India                      +0.07  +1.00             0.00    6.72
 Indonesia                  +0.00  +3.63             0.01   -2.24
 Malaysia                   +0.11  -5.58            -0.39   -7.02
 Philippines                +0.11  +0.80            -0.04   -0.93
 S.Korea                    +0.48  -2.87            -0.22   16.12
 Singapore                  +0.07  -0.76            -0.17   -1.53
 Taiwan                     -0.01  -1.37             0.12   20.98
 Thailand                   +0.41  -1.24            -0.10   -9.79
 
 (Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani
Sarkar)