* Thai baht top loser in Asian FX
* U.S CPI data awaited
* Taiwan stocks hit another record high

By Archishma Iyer
       April 9 (Reuters) - Thailand's baht led losses among
subdued Asian currencies on Tuesday, as traders exercised
caution ahead of this week's U.S. inflation data and a flurry of
regional central bank meetings.  
    The all-important U.S. CPI data scheduled for release on
Wednesday will take centre-stage for global markets as bets on a
U.S. interest rate cut have gradually been diminishing. 
    Traders are now seeing about a 50% chance of the Fed cutting
rates in June, as against near 60% from last week, according to
the CME's FedWatch tool. 
    In Asia, the baht lost as much as 0.4%. It is among
the worst performing currencies in the region, having slumped
about 6.7% this year. Stocks, however, rose 0.8%.  
    The Bank of Thailand, which meets on Wednesday, is likely to
stay pat on rates for the third consecutive meeting, a Reuters
poll showed, in the midst of middling economic growth and rising
pressure from the government to slash rates.  
    The Thai PM had said that the central bank should cut rates
by at least a quarter point in the upcoming meeting. 
    Southeast Asia's No.2 economy is set to announce a host of
property measures on Tuesday, in a bid to revive growth.
    "Actual growth performance this year (for Thailand) is
likely to be below potential," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote. 
    "With below-potential growth and low inflation, we continue
to expect the Bank of Thailand to cut policy rates three times
this year," they added. 
    Central banks in Singapore and South Korea are also due to
meet this week, with analysts expecting the banks' policy
stances to remain unchanged.
     Among other Asian assets, the South Korean won
and stocks traded marginally lower and down 0.3%
respectively, ahead of legislative elections on Wednesday.
    The Singapore dollar and the Malaysian ringgit
were flat. However, the MSCI's EM Asia Index
rose as much as 0.8% to hit almost a month's high. 
    Among Asian shares, stocks in Taiwan hit another
record high, jumping as much as 1.7%, piggy-backing on Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing winning a $6.6 billion
subsidy for advanced semiconductor production in Phoenix,
Arizona. 
    Equities in Singapore rose 0.7%, while those in
Malaysia and China traded about 0.2% lower each.
    Markets in Philippines and Indonesia were closed due to
public holidays. 
    Elsewhere, the Israel shekel gained more than 2% on
Monday after the central bank held interest rates steady. 

    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** POLL-India inflation likely cooled in March, albeit
slightly
    ** Analysts lower Argentina 2024 inflation view to 189% -
cenbank poll
    ** Japan warns against excessive volatility as yen slides
near fresh lows 

 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0345 GMT
 COUNTRY      FX RIC          FX     FX    INDEX   STOCKS    STOCKS
                           DAILY  YTD %           DAILY %     YTD %
                               %                           
 Japan                     -0.05  -7.11              0.49     18.15
 China                     -0.05  -1.89             -0.15      2.27
 India                     +0.00  -0.13              0.00      4.30
 Indonesia                     -  -2.81                 -      0.19
 Malaysia                  +0.00  -3.35             -0.22      7.00
 Philippines                   -  -1.92                 -      4.51
 S.Korea                   -0.13  -4.94             -0.25      2.09
 Singapore                 +0.00  -2.09              0.72     -0.03
 Taiwan                    -0.02  -4.26              1.66     15.76
 Thailand                  -0.07  -6.64              0.98     -1.89
 
 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani
Sarkar)