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By Roshan Thomas

Feb 2 (Reuters) - Indonesian and South Korean stocks tumbled more than 5% each on Monday, while emerging Asian currencies slipped against the U.S. dollar, as investors weighed how President Donald Trump's pick for the Federal Reserve chair could shape U.S. monetary policy.

MSCI's global emerging markets index .MSCIEF and its emerging Asia counterpart .MIMS00000PUS declined about 3% each in their steepest intraday falls since late November.

A global EM currencies gauge .MIEM00000CUS was down 0.4% as the U.S. dollar index =USD hung on to its gains from last week fuelled by Trump's pick of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair.

The week opened on a dismal note, with investors exiting positions after weeks of gains in most equity markets and precious metals, as they weighed Warsh's approach to monetary policy and his preference for a smaller balance sheet.

"Overall sentiment across Asian emerging markets is fragile and defensive today," said Tareck Horchani, head of prime brokerage dealing at Maybank Securities in Singapore.

"Markets are still digesting the global volatility triggered by Trump's nomination of Warsh as the next Fed chair, which has led to sharp repositioning across FX, rates and commodities."

Among precious metals, spot gold XAU= and silver XAG= extended their routs following increases in CME precious metals margin requirements that are set to take effect at the session's close.

In equities, South Korea's KOSPI index .KS11 retreated 5.6%, dragged lower by blue-chip stocks including Samsung Electronics 005930.KS, SK Hynix 000660.KS and Hyundai Motor 005380.KS. They fell between 5% and 9%.

Stocks in Taiwan .TWII fell 2.2%, with top contract chipmaker TSMC 2330.TW shedding 1.6%.

Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index .JKSE slumped 5.7%, extending last week's sharp selloff after an MSCI warning over transparency concerns sparked an $80 billion rout.

Foreign investors net sold about $781 million worth of stocks in January, the highest since April 2025, and adding to about $1 billion outflows in 2025, LSEG and IDX exchange data showed.

Markets are likely to remain volatile in the near term, with sentiment towards Indonesian assets expected to stay cautious until recent reform measures are implemented effectively and policy steps restore confidence, said Horchani.

Among currencies, South Korea's won KRW=KFTC slumped over 1%, while the Taiwan dollar TWD=TP fell 0.6% and was on track for its worst day since August 21.

Thailand's baht THB=TH slipped 0.5% ahead of the February 8 election, a showdown between three big parties that could lead to the country's fourth prime minister in less than three years.

The Indian rupee INR=IN rose 0.4%, supported by likely central bank intervention before the market opened, traders said, after the currency came under pressure following a budget-triggered selloff in local stocks.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** BOJ debated risk of being 'behind the curve' on inflation, January summary shows

** Indian central bank likely intervened before market open to support rupee, traders say

** Yield on Indonesia's 10-year government bonds ID10YT=RR at 6.323%

** Markets in Malaysia .KLSE, MYR= closed for a holiday

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0534 GMT
COUNTRY	FX RIC	FX DAILY %	FX YTD %	INDEX	STOCKS DAILY %	STOCKS YTD %
Japan	JPY=	+0.10	+1.33	.N225	-1.25	4.60
China	CNY=CFXS	+0.08	+0.53	.SSEC	-2.28	1.39
India	INR=IN	+0.50	-1.81	.NSEI	0.35	-4.65
Indonesia	IDR=	-0.18	-0.83	.JKSE	-6.00	-9.45
Malaysia	MYR=	-	+2.97	.KLSE	-	3.62
Philippines	PHP=	-0.05	-0.13	.PSI	-0.37	4.17
S.Korea	KRW=KFTC	-1.42	-1.69	.KS11	-5.26	17.45
Singapore	SGD=	+0.02	+1.07	.STI	-0.83	4.70
Taiwan	TWD=TP	-0.54	-0.64	.TWII	-1.37	9.19
Thailand	THB=TH	-0.66	-0.91	.SETI	-0.91	4.28