EMERGING MARKETS-Asian currencies, stocks rally as US Fed hints dovish bias

* S. Korean won up 0.9% * Taiwan stocks up 0.7% * Thai April headline CPI +0.19% yr/yr By Echha Jain May 3 (Reuters) - Asian emerging market currencies and equities rallied on Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated it was keeping a dovish tilt, ahead of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day. The South Korean won was the biggest gainer in the region, appreciating 0.9% against the greenback. The Indonesian rupiah gained 0.5%. Among equities, Taiwan stocks rose 0.7% to be the top gainer in the region, while Malaysia stocks added 0.3%. Market sentiment in the emerging markets lifted after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said earlier in the week that while recent inflation readings mean it will likely take longer than expected for central bank officials to become comfortable that inflation will resume its decline, interest rate increases also remained unlikely. Markets have consistently scaled back the timing and amount of rate cuts this year from the Fed as inflation has proved to be sticky. After expecting the first cut to come by March at the start of the year, markets now see a better than 60% chance the Fed will announce its first interest rate cut in September, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. "Rate cuts by the U.S. Fed will provide EM Asian central banks with the space to also lower their domestic interest rates, thereby providing a tailwind for a pickup in economic growth," said Lloyd Chan, FX strategist at MUFG. Traders now look ahead to the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day. Back in Asia, the Thai baht was flat while equities in Bangkok advanced 0.4%. The country's headline consumer price index rose 0.19% in April from a year earlier, versus a 0.47% year-on-year drop the previous month, and was the first time in seven months that inflation was positive. The Malaysian ringgit gained 0.4% while the Philippine peso inched 0.1% higher. Seoul stocks jumped 0.2% while Singapore stocks gained 0.3% HIGHLIGHTS: ** Singapore middle distillates dip slightly to 2-week low amid higher net exports ** Yen poised for best week in over a year; dollar waits on US jobs data ** India cenbank's FX intervention eases as conditions turn favourable for rupee Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0313 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCK DAILY YTD % DAILY S YTD % % % Japan +0.39 -7.83 - 14.26 China India +0.00 -0.31 0.00 4.22 Indonesia +0.53 -4.35 -0.21 -2.35 Malaysia +0.36 -3.06 0.32 8.98 Philippin +0.13 -3.52 -0.10 2.94 es S.Korea Singapore +0.07 -2.53 0.34 2.09 Taiwan +0.27 -5.17 0.68 13.55 Thailand -0.04 -7.22 0.36 -3.37 (Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)