* Taiwan stocks fall most since mid-April
* S.Korean shares hit more than 2-week low
* Rupiah slips a day after rising 0.5%
* Japan's yen at six-week high, Nikkei down 2%

By Shivangi  Lahiri
       July 18 (Reuters) - Technology-heavy stock indexes of
South Korea and Taiwan fell sharply on Thursday, after reports
that the United States was mulling tighter curbs on exports of
advanced semiconductor technology to China triggered a sell-off
in chip stocks.
    Currencies in emerging Asian markets were largely mixed. The
Indonesian rupiah fell 0.4%, giving up most of its gain
made on Wednesday when the central bank left its interest rate
unchanged.
    MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 fell as much as 1% in its fourth straight
session of declines. Shares in South Korea weakened as
much as 1.5% to hit their lowest in more than two weeks.
    Equities in Taiwan fell 2.6% to post their biggest
intraday drop since mid-April, with chip-making giant TSMC
 shedding over 4%.
    "There are huge risks of increased tariffs on China and the
China region, and now on the chip sector," said Jessica Amir, a
markets strategist, at investment and trading platform Moomoo.
    "This means the chip sector could succumb to even more
profit-taking, remembering investors are rotating out of
mega-cap tech, clipping profits off the table and going into
small caps anyway given the Fed is now likely to cut rates
two-three times this year."
    Elsewhere, Indonesian shares jumped 1.2% to mark
their biggest intraday gain since late June, boosted by
utilities and banks, while Philippine and Singapore
stocks edged lower.
    Among currencies, the South Korean won and
Taiwan's dollar edged higher. The Thai baht
and Malaysian ringgit edged lower, while the Singapore
dollar was largely flat.
    In Japan, the Nikkei fell 2% amid a global sell-off
in chip stocks, while the yen scaled a six-week high
against the dollar with data suggesting authorities might have
bought nearly 6 trillion yen last week.
    "A violent move downwards is not unexpected in such a
scenario given how stretch short JPY positions are," analysts at
Maybank wrote.
    "Fundamentally, yield differentials are still wide and
therefore, we expect the USDJPY to eventually rebound upwards
again further into 3Q 2024."
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:
    ** Prabowo's nephew to be appointed Indonesia deputy finmin,
his party says
    ** Bank of Korea extends lending support for small,
mid-sized firms
    ** JGB yields rise as investors grow cautious of possible
July rate hike
    ** Malaysia's June exports rise 1.7% on-year, below forecast
    
  Asian                                               
  stock                                          
 indexes                                         
   and                                           
 currenc                                         
 ies at                                          
  0506                                           
  GMT                                            
 COUNTRY  FX RIC        FX     FX  INDE  STOCKS  STOCK
                     DAILY  YTD %     X   DAILY  S YTD
                         %                    %      %
 Japan               -0.11  -9.77  <.N2  -2.15   20.15
                                   25>           
 China                           EC>           
 India               -0.01  -0.46  <.NS    0.11  13.38
                                   EI>           
 Indones             -0.35  -4.69  <.JK    1.02   0.35
 ia                                SE>           
 Malaysi             -0.06  -1.57  <.KL   -0.10  12.19
 a                                 SE>           
 Philipp             +0.07  -4.88  <.PS   -0.08   3.61
 ines                              I>            
 S.Korea                         11>           
 Singapo             +0.03  -1.59  <.ST   -0.64   7.00
 re                                I>            
 Taiwan              +0.04  -5.73  <.TW   -2.11  29.77
                                   II>           
 Thailan             -0.14  -4.98  <.SE    0.25  -6.55
 d                                 TI>           
 
    
 (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)