EMERGING MARKETS-Asian FX mixed while stocks gain; Chinese yuan rallies

By Rishav Chatterjee

Sept 15 (Reuters) - The Chinese yuan rallied among mixed emerging Asian currencies on Friday following better-than-expected economic data coupled with signals that the central bank's policy support measures have started to aid the struggling economy.

The yuan CNY=CFXS gained 0.3% to hit a two-week high against the dollar, following weeks of depreciation, while Chinese stocks .SSEC gained 0.3%.

Indonesia reported an August trade surplus of $3.12 billion, which was roughly double expectations.

Despite the good on the trade front, Indonesia's policymakers must remain cautious about currency volatility given expectations of a current account deficit and with U.S. Treasury yields rising, said Trimegah economist Fakhrul Fulvian.

The rupiah IDR= was trading down 0.1% while Indonesian stock market .JKSE gained around 0.4%, rising to over an one week high.

The country's central bank is set to meet to decide on its policy rate Thursday.

"Bank Indonesia is likely to reiterate its focus on strengthening the rupiah stability against a backdrop of deteriorating balance of payments support," said Betty Wang, senior economist at ANZ.

Better on the Chinese economy could become supportive for its trading partners in emerging Asia.

Industrial production and retail sales data from the world's second largest economy beat estimates, adding to the fact that stimulus measures from the People's Bank of China has started to have a positive effect.

"Any signs of stabilization in credit/consumption data would probably anchor the yuan but it could still be premature to look for a recovery in the fourth quarter," said Maybank analysts.

As of Thursday, the yuan has more than 5% against the dollar this year, making it one of Asia's worst performing currencies.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has rolled out a raft of measures to defend the yuan.

It, however, cut the reserve requirement ratio for all banks on Thursday for the second time this year, boosting liquidity while reducing yields on the yuan, but the monetary easing should help an economy whose stuttering performance has put off investors.

The U.S. dollar index =USD, measuring its value against a basket of major currencies, last stood at 105.31, just below Thursday's six-month peak of 105.43.

Among other currencies, the Singapore dollar SGD= added 0.1% while the Philippine Peso PHP= and Thai baht THB=TH fell 0.4% and 0.1% respectively.

Equities in Asia jumped with the Philippine stock market .PSI being the only exception. Stocks in Malaysia .KLSE, South Korea .KS11 and Singapore .STI added 0.3%, 1.2% and 1.0% respectively.

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0354 GMT
COUNTRY	FX RIC	FX DAILY %	FX YTD %	INDEX	STOCKS DAILY %	STOCKS YTD %
Japan	JPY=	+0.01	-11.08	.N225	1.21	28.64
China	CNY=CFXS	+0.31	-4.88	.SSEC	0.28	1.49
India	INR=IN	-0.04	-0.41	.NSEI	0.27	11.33
Indonesia	IDR=	-0.08	+1.31	.JKSE	0.44	2.04
Malaysia	MYR=	+0.06	-5.90	.KLSE	0.34	-2.74
Philippines	PHP=	-0.43	-2.12	.PSI	-0.18	-5.62
S.Korea	KRW=KFTC	-0.13	-4.74	.KS11	1.30	16.55
Singapore	SGD=	+0.12	-1.62	.STI	1.00	0.94
Taiwan	TWD=TP	-0.09	-3.85	.TWII	0.22	19.15
Thailand	THB=TH	-0.06	-3.29	.SETI	0.01	-7.39

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Indonesia Aug trade surplus at $3.12 bln, bigger than expected

** Singapore working with to build strong regional supply chains

(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com;))