By Utkarsh Hathi and Purvi Agarwal

July 16 (Reuters) - Emerging-market stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with tech-heavy Asian equities dragged down by a sell-off in chip stocks, while currencies were flat-to-marginally higher against a steady dollar.

Chipmakers sold off yet again, overshadowing strong earnings from Taiwan's TSMC 2330.TW - the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Nvidia NVDA.O.

Taiwanese stocks .TWII were flat, South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 dropped more than 6%, led by declines in Samsung 005930.KS and SK Hynix 000660.KS, while Chinese stocks .CSI300, .SSEC fell 1.9%.

Asia's tech-heavy equity markets have seen sharp swings in recent weeks as investors weigh concerns over the durability of the AI-driven rally against robust earnings from semiconductor stocks amid continued demand.

The broader MSCI global EM stocks index .MSCIEF lost 1.2%, while the currencies gauge .MIEM00000CUS edged 0.1% higher.

In emerging Europe, the Romanian benchmark .BETI rose 0.8%, Hungarian equities .BUX gained 0.5% and Polish blue-chip stocks .WIG20 were up 0.3%.

Meanwhile, escalations in the Middle East continued to stoke fears of a renewed full-scale conflict and prolonged energy supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipping data showed fewer vessels travelling through the crucial waterway after the U.S. reimposed its blockade of Iran, but crude prices eased as traders looked to book profits after three sessions of gains.

"Our working theory has been that pre mid-terms, Trump is worried about losing the Senate and hence is much more amenable to a deal... but, any deal which involves a toll through the Strait would be unacceptable to the West and create an unstable equilibrium and could lead to further escalation post mid-terms," said Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies.

The dollar index =USD was stable, though it hovered near a one-month low, hit by fading expectations of imminent U.S. rate hikes, following softer-than-expected inflation readings this week.

However, the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in three-and-a-half years and flagged more to come, as brisk growth fanned inflation risks.

Governor Shin Hyun Song said that demand-side inflationary pressures in the economy could increase as the chip boom's impact spills over into domestic demand.

South Africa's rand ZAR= traded 0.2% lower in choppy trading, while its stocks .JTOPI gained 0.4%. Turkey's lira was marginally lower.

Most emerging European currencies lost ground against the euro, with the Hungarian forint HUF= slipping 0.4%.

Poland's central bank is expected to release core inflation data for June later in the day.

Elsewhere, Senegal is expected to appoint Lazard as its financial advisor on debt matters, according to sources familiar with the situation, as investors closely watch the country's efforts to tackle its debt burden.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** HSBC upgrades Indian equities to 'neutral' on easing oil prices, return of foreign flows

** China's record consumer defaults undermine Beijing's push to boost spending

** Indonesia's FDI jumps in second quarter, investment minister says

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