* Nikkei highest since Feb. 1990
* Taiwan stocks hit 2-week high
* Asian FX largely mixed
* U.S. dollar subdued

By Roushni Nair
       Jan 22 (Reuters) - Shares in Taiwan and Japan led the
charge in Asia on Monday after corporate earnings fueled a big
rally in the S&P 500 to an all-time high last session, while
currencies in the Southeast Asian region largely traded mixed.
    Shares in Taipei rose as much as 1.06% by 0350 GMT,
its highest since Jan. 2. The majority of gains on the stock
exchange were driven by the tech sector, with a jump of more
than 8% in Quanta Computer Inc topping the benchmark. 
    The gains were sparked last week by Taiwanese chipmaker
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world's largest
contract chipmaker, after it projected more than 20% growth in
2024 revenue on booming demand for high-end chips used in AI.
    Japan's Nikkei followed suit to advance more than
1.5%, rising to a level not seen since February 1990, before
closing out the morning session up 1.15% at 36,375.56 points. 
    Every sector, except energy stocks, rallied with 185 of the
index's 225 components advancing. 
    The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) two-day meeting begins on Monday. 
    Wagers for an exit from negative rates at this meeting have
been wound down in the wake of the New Year's Day earthquake on
Japan's west coast alongside dovish BOJ commentary.
    Other markets largely traded higher, with shares in Manila
 and Kuala Lumpur advancing more than 0.5% each,
while stocks in Bangkok dropped 0.6%. 
    Asian currencies, on the other hand, wavered as the dollar
struggled to hold its data-spurred gains from last week, ahead
of monetary policy decisions by major central banks in Japan and
Europe.
    The dollar index was largely flat at 103.16. 
    The dollar rally may pause this week given the absence of
any major U.S. data or Federal Reserve speakers, analysts at BBH
Global Currency Strategy wrote. 
    "EM FX may get a temporary reprieve but if the data continue
to come in strong, the broad dollar rally should continue," the
note added.
    Back in Asia, the Taiwan dollar and South Korean
won each advanced 0.3%, while China's yuan
, Thailand's baht and Indian rupee
traded flat. Malaysian ringgit slipped 0.2%.  
    The Monetary Authority of Singapore meets this week, with
markets pricing in no changes to policy settings, while analysts
at BBH predict Bank Negara Malaysia to keep rates on hold at
3.00%. 
    "While the MAS does not have an explicit inflation target,
falling inflation should allow it to loosen policy at its April
meeting," BBH analysts said in a client note.
    Separately, the Chinese central bank skipped interest rate
cuts in its market operations, while offshore yuan funding costs
surged to their highest in nearly four months.
    

    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Foreign investment flows into China shrink 8.0% in 2023
    ** Malaysia's Dec CPI rises 1.5% on-year, in line with
forecast
    
  Asia stock indexes and currencies                          
 at 0426 GMT                                           
 COUNTRY   FX RIC          FX     FX    INDEX  STOCKS  STOCKS
                      DAILY %  YTD %            DAILY   YTD %
                                                    %  
 Japan                  +0.19  -4.60            1.26    9.39
 China                                                
 India                  +0.00  +0.17            -0.23   -0.73
 Indonesi               -0.10  -1.47             0.02   -0.60
 a                                                     
 Malaysia               -0.15  -2.80             0.48    2.67
 Philippi               -0.32  -1.37             0.77    1.60
 nes                                                   
 S.Korea                                              
 Singapor               +0.01  -1.57             0.09   -2.63
 e                                                     
 Taiwan                 +0.29  -1.96             0.62   -0.78
 Thailand               +0.03  -3.79            -0.55   -2.89
 
    

    
 (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali
Paul)