EMERGING MARKETS-Thai stocks, baht weaken as Bangkok reopening reportedly delayed

(Repeats to additional subscribers. No change to text.) * Asian stocks, FX weaker * Thai stocks lead losses in region * China Evergrande eyes worst week ever By Harish Sridharan Sept 17 (Reuters) - Thailand's baht and stocks fell on Friday as a report that the reopening of capital Bangkok to international tourists would be delayed weighed on sentiment, while a firmer U.S. dollar kept moves in other emerging Asian currencies subdued. South Korea's won led losses in the broader region as U.S Treasury yields and the greenback strengthened after strong retail sales data renewed expectations of a hawkish tilt from the Federal reserve next week. Shares in the Philippines, Malaysia and China fell between 0.2% and 0.6%. The Bangkok Post on Thursday reported https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2182455/citys-reopening-to-be-postponed Thailand's tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn as saying the reopening of the city to foreigners should be delayed by two weeks, as the country attempts to inoculate a larger proportion of its population. The tourism-reliant nation had planned to allow vaccinated tourists into Bangkok by Oct. 1. Stocks in the country fell 0.6%, while the baht weakened 0.4%. Analysts at Maybank pointed to a "dire" outlook for tourism as well as pressure from a strengthening dollar as catalysts for investors to exercise caution towards the baht. The dollar rose following an unexpected rise in U.S. retail sales for August, which offset some concerns about growth in the world's largest economy and signalled the Fed might opt for an earlier tapering of its massive pandemic-fuelled stimulus. The won shed 0.5% and was at its weakest since Aug. 20, while the Malaysian ringgit also fell. "The rise in the USD/AxJ (Asia excluding Japan) underscores anxiety in the region which still faces a shortage of vaccinations and growth concerns," Maybank analysts added. Equities in China have dropped more than 3% this week, after a raft of weaker-than-expected data suggested growth in the world's second-largest economy would slow in the second half of this year. Meanwhile, cash-strapped China Evergrande tanked further and eyed its worst week ever. Indian shares scaled record highs on Friday and were set to post a weekly gain of more than 2%, benefiting from a jump in banking stocks. HIGHLIGHTS ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 2.9 basis points at 6.132% ** Top losers on Thailand's SETI was AQ Estate PCL , down 25% ** Indian shares scale another peak Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0405 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCK DAILY YTD % DAILY S YTD % % % Japan -0.12 -6.00 0.56 11.11 China +0.04 +1.16 -0.59 3.24 India +0.00 -0.61 0.48 26.69 Indonesia +0.11 -1.37 -0.04 2.14 Malaysia -0.24 -3.53 -0.43 -4.83 Philippines +0.04 -3.85 -0.24 -2.63 S.Korea -0.53 -7.79 0.21 9.16 Singapore -0.01 -1.83 -0.08 7.67 Taiwan +0.01 +2.78 0.61 18.00 Thailand -0.39 -9.68 -0.60 11.91 (Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam Holmes)