Updates for afternoon trade

By Shruti Agarwal

June 12 (Reuters) - Asian chipmakers surged on Friday and broader equities rallied, as risk appetite returned on hopes that a Middle East peace deal may finally materialise, while Indonesia's rupiah was set to log its first weekly gains in nearly three months.

Currencies of energy importers that have come under pressure from a prolonged period of elevated oil prices tracked higher against the U.S. dollar as oil prices hit a two-month low, the greenback =USD tumbled, and 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR slid.

South Korea's won KRW=KFTC appreciated 0.6% to 1,521.8 and the Indian rupee INR=IN jumped 0.4% to 95.41 a dollar.

Equities, particularly the AI-heavy gauges in South Korea and Taiwan, soared on the hopes of a Middle East peace deal after U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal could be signed as soon as this weekend.

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 closed 4.6% higher on the day, but ended the week in the red due to sharp losses earlier in the week. Chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS gained nearly 8% and SK Hynix 000660.KS added more than 2% on the day.

Taiwan's stocks .TWII also advanced 2.4% on the day, although they were on track to end the week about 2% in the red.

In Indonesia, stocks .JKSE resumed a rally sparked by the central bank's off-cycle rate hike on Tuesday, boosting major lenders. The benchmark gauge advanced 3%, on track to add over 8% for the week.

Bank Central Asia BBCA.JK and Bank Negara Indonesia BBNI.JK gained more than 2% each on Friday and were set for bumper weekly gains.

The banking sector rally is heavily driven by expectations of wider margins, said Ernest Chew, head of ASEAN Equities at BNP Paribas, adding that recent assurances from the central bank on its commitment toward rupiah stability and curbing inflation provide investors with a more predictable macroeconomic backdrop to confidently bid up banking stocks.

Reports that the body designated to export Indonesia's strategic commodities will oversee deals without taking over exports also lifted sentiment, assuaging concerns over an earlier, more sweeping commodity export centralisation plan.

"While this is much needed relief, the broader issue around domestic policy uncertainty and questions around fiscal sustainability and contingent liabilities remain," MUFG economist Michael Wan said.

The rupiah also resumed its relief rally, strengthening to as much as 17,840 per dollar. It was last trading at 17,860, clocking its first weekly gain since late March.

Elsewhere, the Malaysian ringgit MYR= appreciated to the 4.0580 mark, but was on track to end the week in the red, having fallen more than 2% in the past two weeks.

The Philippine peso PHP= advanced 0.3% to 60.768 per dollar.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Indonesia's Danantara unit raises $1.5 billion in debut dollar bond

** Indonesian resource stocks rose: Amman Mineral and Dian Swastatika Sentosa up 13% each

** Thai central bank chief says policies must protect economy from shocks

** Thai cenbank reserves fall to $283.5 bln in week ended June 5

** Singapore fuel oil stocks fall to nearly 8-year low

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0743 GMT
COUNTRY	FX RIC	FX DAILY %	FX YTD %	INDEX	STOCKS DAILY %	STOCKS YTD %
Japan	JPY=	-0.26	-2.30	.N225	2.81	27.37
China	CNY=CFXS	+0.13	+3.32	.SSEC	1.12	1.58
India	INR=IN	+0.36	-5.81	.NSEI	0.69	-10.75
Indonesia	IDR=	+0.62	-6.69	.JKSE	2.80	-30.03
Malaysia	MYR=	+0.15	-0.05	.KLSE	0.13	0.10
Philippines	PHP=	+0.34	-3.24	.PSI	-	-2.36
S.Korea	KRW=KFTC	+0.62	-5.43	.KS11	4.63	92.77
Singapore	SGD=	-0.13	+0.03	.STI	0.33	7.71
Taiwan	TWD=TP	-0.03	-0.64	.TWII	2.36	52.50
Thailand	THB=TH	+0.03	-4.12	.SETI	1.01	26.08