* Markets in Thailand closed due to a holiday * Developing Asia"s 2020 contraction seen less severe than expected - ADB * Peso firms after trade data By Anushka Trivedi Dec 10 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in emerging Asia gained ground on Thursday, as analysts pointed to investors reshuffling their portfolio amid expectations of a better-than-forecast economic recovery in the region supported by China"s steady rebound. Despite a weakness in the broader markets and a weak finish at Wall Street overnight on concerns of delayed fiscal stimulus, Asian equity indexes in China, Indonesia and the Philippines advanced between 0.2% to 0.6%. "With a lack of headlines or data to drive markets in Asia, investors appear to be using the lull to reduce risk in some markets and rejig weightings in others," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analysts, Asia Pacific at OANDA. Stirring a bit of positivity in the markets was Asian Development Bank"s (ADB) revision of its growth projection for developing economies in the region for 2020. It now expects them to contract less than previously thought and rebound swiftly next year, supported by China"s pace of recovery. "The November data out of China had continued to reinforce the recovery picture and the improved global demand, providing support for Asia markets," said Jingyi Pan, a Singapore-based market strategist with financial services firm IG. With dwindling coronavirus cases, China"s economy has stabilized from the crisis as most crucial economic indicators like trade and manufacturing index signal a rapid recovery in the world"s second biggest economy. The U.S. dollar was a shade weaker in the Asian trading session, supporting local currencies. However, the South Korean won eased 0.1% as the country reported 682 new cases of coronavirus infections which is threatening to overwhelm its economy and healthcare system. Authorities in the country on Thursday were scrambling to build hospital beds in shipping containers to ease strains on medical facilities stretched by the latest wave of infections. The Philippine peso firmed 0.3% after its October trade deficit came in at $1.78 billion, sharply narrower than last year"s $3.25 billion figure. ING analysts said in a note that this, together with low corporate demand for dollars should support the currency in the near-term. Financial markets in Thailand were closed due to a holiday. HIGHLIGHTS ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 0.1 basis points at 6.214% ** Top gainers on the Jakarta stock index include Intermedia Capital Tbk PT up 30.9% and Sidomulyo Selaras Tbk PT up ​22.2% ** Top gainers on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index include Top Glove Corp Bhd up 2.8% and Telekom Malaysia Bhd up 2.5% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0349 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan -0.21 +4.00 -0.33 12.99 China +0.03 +6.42 0.24 10.82 India +0.00 -2.96 0.00 11.18 Indonesia -0.14 -1.56 0.77 -4.91 Malaysia +0.07 +0.71 0.31 3.95 Philippine +0.27 +5.41 0.68 -8.50 s S.Korea -0.06 +6.53 0.03 25.41 Singapore -0.01 +0.55 -0.39 -12.13 Taiwan +1.02 +6.68 -0.72 19.08 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru)