* Philippines peso, Taiwan dollar lead small losses
* Taiwan stocks reach fresh record high before paring gains
* Argentina inflation slows

By Archishma Iyer
       March 13 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies dipped on Wednesday, after
hotter-than-expected inflation data in the United States suggested a slight
increase in the risk that interest rate cuts may be delayed, though stocks were
unruffled and touched record highs in Jakarta and Taipei.
    The Philippine peso and  Taiwan dollar lost about 0.3% and
0.2% each, with the former poised for its largest drop in two weeks as it gives
back a little bit of recent gains. Phillipine stocks rose 1.2%.
    Consumer prices in the world's largest economy increased in February,
beating consensus forecasts and gently pushing back on rate cut bets.
    Futures pricing implies a 67% chance of the Federal Reserve lowering rates
in its June meeting, down a tad from 71% earlier in the week, according to the
CME FedWatch Tool. 
    "Prospects of delayed Fed rate cuts means 'higher for longer' imposition on
central banks elsewhere, and especially for EMs (including EM Asia), where
front-running Fed rate cuts come at a cost of macro- and FX-stability," Vishnu
Varathan, chief economist Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank, said in a client note. 
    Varathan added that the inflation print could be felt more acutely outside
of the U.S. and this could limit the extent to which Asian emerging market
currencies might benefit from an expected retreat by the dollar.
    Other emerging Asian currencies such as the South Korean won,
Singapore dollar and the Malaysian ringgit traded between flat and
0.2% lower. 
    The Indonesian rupiah propped up marginally, after coming off from a
public holiday, while the Thai baht followed suit.  
    Among Asian equities, Singapore and Jakarta firmed between
0.3% and 0.6%, with Indonesian shares touching a record high in early trade.
    Indonesian shares have been drawing inflows from abroad in recent months,
particularly into financial stocks because bank profits are expected to ride
economic growth higher. Last month's election victory by Prabowo Subianto was
also welcomed as he's seen delivering policy continuity. Foreign investor
favourites in the banking and mining sectors led gains on Wednesday.
    Markets in Kuala Lumpur fell about 1% 
    Taiwan's tech-heavy shares advanced as much as 1% to hit a new
record high, before reversing gains to trade flat. Investors have constantly
looked to pour their money into artificial intelligence stocks, driven by
enthusiasm in the technology sector. 
    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the heaviest weighted stock on
the country's benchmark index, rose nearly 1.2% 
    Elsewhere, Argentina's monthly inflation slowed down more than expected in
February to 13.2%, though the yearly rate was an eye-watering 276.2%. The
country's peso last traded at 848.50 per dollar, while stocks
ended over 7% higher overnight. 
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Indonesia's benchmark 10-year bond yield falls to 6.626% 
    ** KKR to invest $400 mln in Philippine telecoms tower business
    ** Taiwan central bank sees CPI rising less than 2% this year, economic
growth better than 2023
    
    
  Asia stock indexes and currencies at                              
 0335 GMT                                                     
 COUNTRY      FX RIC           FX   FX YTD    INDEX   STOCKS  STOCKS
                          DAILY %        %           DAILY %   YTD %
 Japan                      +0.24    -4.25             -0.42   15.45
 China                      -0.07    -1.25             -0.51    2.20
 India                      -0.08    +0.45              0.00    2.78
 Indonesia                  +0.10    -1.12              0.35    1.85
 Malaysia                   -0.17    -1.99             -0.92    5.89
 Philippines                -0.28    -0.00              1.20    7.94
 S.Korea                    -0.11    -1.87              0.40    1.40
 Singapore                  +0.06    -0.92              0.58   -2.48
 Taiwan                     -0.19    -2.34              0.02   11.09
 Thailand                   +0.08    -4.27              0.42   -2.15
 

 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Westbrook and Edwina
Gibbs)