* Flows into equities, bonds and money markets - tmsnrt.rs/2W2oc8z * Thai markets closed due to a holiday * S. Korea won marks first weekly loss in six * Ringgit supported by high crude prices By Anushka Trivedi Dec 11 (Reuters) - Philippine shares rose for a second session to hit a more than nine-month high on Friday, bolstered in a mixed morning for Asian stock markets by this week"s approval of a 2021 budget that aims to fend off the worst effects of the coronavirus crisis. The Philippine index surged as much as 2.1%, adding to more than a half percent rise on Tuesday and gains since the start of October that have allowed it to recover most of the first quarter"s almost 40% slump. While President Rodrigo Duterte"s office was yet to receive the budget bill approved by Congress on Wednesday, his spokesman said Duterte would scrutinise the spending plan and do his best to approve the 4.5 trillion pesos ($93.61 billion) budget on time. The Philippine economy, which before the pandemic was one of Asia"s fastest growing, is in dire need of fiscal support as the government now expects a deeper contraction of 8.5%-9.5% for the year. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is largely expected to hold fire at its monetary policy meeting next week, analysts said, adding they could not rule out an interest rate cut in 2021. Jennifer Lomboy, a Manila-based fixed income fund manager at First Metro Asset, said optimism about the national budget being almost passed was the main driver. "The possibility of yet another rate cut early next year also drives the market as investors turn to equities in search of better yields," she said. Markets in Malaysia and India also rose as foreign investors were lured by low valuations and high yields amid signs that regional economies are rebounding. Following a mixed bag of news on vaccines overnight, Chinese stocks fell for a fifth straight day as more evidence of tensions with the United States weighed on the market. Despite a soft dollar supporting most Asian currencies, the South Korean won eased 0.2% to mark first weekly loss in six, with Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ pinning the won"s underperformance to profit-taking. Malaysia"s ringgit gained 0.3% to hit its highest in over seven months as crude prices rallied above $50 per barrel mark. Malaysia is a net exporter of oil. Financial markets in Thailand were shut for a holiday. HIGHLIGHTS ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 1 basis points at 6.205% ** Top gainers on the Jakarta stock index include Surya Esa Perkasa Tbk PT up 34.5% and Pool Advista Finance Tbk PT up 34.4% ** Top gainers on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index include Public Bank Bhd PUBM.KL up 10.7% and Malayan Banking Bhd MBBM.KL up 5.1% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0724 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan +0.17 +4.41 -0.39 12.66 China +0.10 +6.48 -0.77 9.74 India +0.09 -3.00 0.61 11.44 Indonesia +0.07 -1.42 0.01 -5.80 Malaysia +0.32 +1.04 1.56 5.76 Philippines -0.03 +5.37 1.28 -7.28 S.Korea -0.24 +6.06 0.86 26.05 Singapore +0.16 +0.85 0.48 -11.93 Taiwan +1.20 +6.88 0.09 18.88 ($1 = 48.0500 Philippine pesos) (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Patrick Graham and Arun Koyyur)