EMERGING MARKETS-Indonesian rupiah, Korean won hit by surprise central bank rate calls

        *
      South Korea holds rates at 3.00%


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      Korean stocks at near 1-week high


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      Rupiah slips to 6-month low



 (Updates at 0714 GMT)
    By Sneha  Kumar and Sameer Manekar
       Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah stayed near
six-month lows on Thursday, while the South Korean won snapped a
three-day winning streak after both countries' central banks
shocked investors by eschewing widely anticipated interest rate
calls.
    The rupiah slipped 0.4% to 16,385 per U.S. dollar, a
level not seen since early July last year and adding to a 0.3%
drop on Wednesday when Bank Indonesia (BI) unexpectedly slashed
interest rates by 25 basis points.
    "The surprise decision to pivot back to rate cuts in the
face of FX pressures seems abrupt and incongruous with BI's
prioritisation of IDR stability over the past two years,"
Barclays' analysts said.
    They expect the rupiah to test 16,500 by the end of the
quarter.
    The South Korean won declined 0.1%, slipping from
a one-week high, after the Bank of Korea (BOK) held interest
rates, against expectations of a quarter-point cut.
    The decision appears to be primarily of FX consideration,
said Frances Cheung, head of FX and rates strategy at OCBC.
    "Nevertheless, Governor Rhee (Chang-yong) tried to keep the
market's rate-cut expectations alive and we see a 25 bps cut in
February as a high possibility."
    The two decisions underscore the challenges Asian central
banks face as they try to spur growth and defend their
currencies against a towering dollar, while preparing for the
higher tariffs pledged by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
    On the day, however, most Asian currencies found support as
the dollar retreated after cooling U.S. inflation data knocked
down bond yields and increased the likelihood of more than just
one Federal Reserve rate cut this year.
    Still, "Investors are reluctant to price more Fed funds rate
cuts until the next cut materialises as uncertainty is high on
various fronts, including inflation and tariffs," said Cheung.
    An index of emerging market currencies edged
higher, continuing its recovery from a six-month low earlier in
the week.
    Among equities, while the won declined, stocks in Seoul
 rose 1.2% to a nearly one-week high.
    Singaporean equities rose 0.7%, its first gain in six
sessions, while stocks in the Philippines reversed
earlier gains to fall 1%.
    Taiwanese stocks closed 2.3%. TSMC, the
world's largest contract chipmaker, ended 3.8% higher, ahead of
its quarterly results.
    Elsewhere, the Israeli shekel rose to a one-month
high after the news of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and
Hamas.

    HIGHLIGHTS:
    ** Japan wholesale inflation steady near 4%, keeps alive BOJ
rate-hike chance
    ** Detained South Korea's Yoon will not attend questioning,
lawyer says
    ** Indonesia central bank says rupiah's weakness under
control



 Asian stocks
     and
  currencies
 at 0714 GMT










 Japan                      +0.19  +0.65

                                                     0.33  -3.31


 China                       0.00  -0.44             0.32  -3.41
 India                      -0.14  -1.00             0.37  -1.47
 Indonesia                  -0.28  -1.65             1.10   1.10
 Malaysia                   -0.02  -0.67            -0.16  -5.04
 Philippines                +0.22  -0.72            -1.03  -4.03
 S.Korea                    -0.14  +1.07             1.23   5.33
 Singapore                  -0.06  -0.18             0.72   0.32
 Taiwan                     +0.40  -0.46             2.27  -0.04
 Thailand                   +0.01  -0.80             0.00  -3.36




 (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru, additional reporting by
Ankur Bannerjee in Singapore; Editing by Saad Sayeed and Savio
D'Souza)