* Indonesia's rupiah is region's biggest laggard
* Philippine stocks rise as much as 1.3%
* Investors focus on central bank policy meetings across the
globe

By Echha Jain
       March 18 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian equities rallied on
Monday while currencies weakened against the U.S. dollar, led by
Indonesia's rupiah, as investor attention turns toward central
bank meetings this week which could stimulate volatility in
currency markets.
    Stocks in Manilla jumped as much as 1.3%, followed by
equities in Taipei which climbed as much as 0.7%.
    On the other hand, the rupiah depreciated as much as
0.5% against the dollar. Malaysia's ringgit followed
suit, slipping as much as 0.3%. The ringgit, which declined to a
26-year low last month, has slipped about 2.7% so far this year.
    Central bank officials in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan,
Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico, among others, hold policy
meetings this week, and most are likely to keep interest rates
on hold - except the Bank of Japan, which is widely expected to
end its eight-year-old negative interest rate policy.
    Markets are almost sure the U.S. Federal Reserve will stand
pat at its meeting on March 20 with the CME FedWatch tool
showing a 99.0% certainty. As at 0408 GMT, the tool showed a
50.4% chance of a rate cut in June.
    "However, markets are kept on their toes for any surprises
around central banks' policy guidance or pushback against the
scale of rate cuts, especially with commodity prices on the rise
and the last leg of the inflation fight proving to be sticky,"
IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong said. 
    Back in Asia, the yuan was flat while Shanghai
stocks jumped 0.5% after data showed China's factory
output and retail sales beat market expectations over
January-February.
    "The lop-sidedness of the Chinese economy means that
investment continues to be skewed towards manufacturing rather
than real estate," said Natixis senior economist Trinh Nguyen. 
    Both the Philippine peso and South Korean won
 slipped 0.2%.
    Thailand's baht slipped 0.2% whereas Bangkok stocks
 were up 0.4%.
    Elsewhere, Russia's rouble opened slightly firmer on
Monday, a day after President Vladimir Putin won a record
post-Soviet landslide in Russia's election on Sunday, cementing
his already tight grip on power.
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Singapore's February exports fall 0.1% y/y, missing
market estimates
    ** The Philippine central bank sees narrower a 2024, 2025
current account deficit
    ** Thailand's flourishing cannabis culture to end as
government seeks ban
    **  Malaysia's February exports fall 0.8% y/y, missing
market estimates
    
 Asia stock indexes and                               
 currencies at 0424 GMT                          
 COUNTRY  FX RIC        FX     FX  INDE  STOCKS  STOCK
                     DAILY  YTD %     X   DAILY  S YTD
                         %                    %      %
 Japan               -0.05  -5.39  <.N2  +2.26   18.28
                                   25>           
 China                           EC>           
 India               +0.01  +0.41  <.NS   -0.29   1.05
                                   EI>           
 Indones             -0.48  -1.72  <.JK    0.21   0.98
 ia                                SE>           
 Malaysi             -0.30  -2.67  <.KL    0.26   7.03
 a                                 SE>           
 Philipp             -0.18  -0.44  <.PS    1.16   7.00
 ines                              I>            
 S.Korea                         11>           
 Singapo             -0.05  -1.43  <.ST    0.02  -2.06
 re                                I>            
 Taiwan              -0.09  -2.81  <.TW    0.58  10.40
                                   II>           
 Thailan             -0.17  -4.94  <.SE    0.46  -1.65
 d                                 TI>           
 
    
 (Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher
Cushing)