* Thai c.bank holds rates, cuts GDP forecast * S. Korean shares slide for 4th straight day * Indonesian rupiah weakens the most By Shruti Sonal March 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia, China and India shares fell about 1% on Wednesday as fresh lockdowns in Europe sapped appetite for Asia"s risk-sensitive currencies and stocks, further unsettling markets that had been spooked by rising inflation fears in recent weeks. Shares in Jakarta, Mumbai and Shanghai fell between 1% and 1.3%, while Indonesia"s rupiah led losses among currencies that buckled under the dollar"s strength. Germany extended its lockdown to mid-April and Norway postponed its reopening plan on Tuesday, while rising cases in Asia remained a concern for countries such as India and the Philippines. Most countries in emerging Asia looked towards central bank measures to boost recovery. Thailand"s central bank lowered its 2021 economic growth forecast and left its key interest rate unchanged, as expected, at a record low. "In addition to the weak economy, the other main concerns for the central bank are the strong currency and persistent deflation," wrote Gareth Leather, a senior Asia economist at Capital Economics. "Both of these point in the direction of interest rates remaining low for the foreseeable future." The baht was unchanged from early trades, down 0.2%, while stocks were flat. The Philippine central bank is also expected to stand pat on rates for a third straight meeting on Thursday. Ahead of the meeting, the country"s governor said the central bank has the scope to maintain monetary policy support for the country"s economy, but is on guard against "second-round effects" that could push inflation higher. Over in Indonesia, the finance minister said the country would not withdraw fiscal support for the economy abruptly, but would continue lowering the deficit, with the 2022 budget gap set to be below this year"s level. ING analysts warned the recovery in Southeast Asia"s largest economy, which also has the highest number of COVID-19 infections in the region, might not be derailed but definitely delayed "by several months". Impediments on the roll-out of vaccines also dampened the investor sentiment in the region. Hong Kong temporarily suspended COVID-19 vaccinations using two batches of the treatment developed by Pfizer and BioNTech citing defective packaging, while a U.S. health agency said AstraZeneca Plc may have included outdated information in the results of its U.S. trial data. Wall Street ended lower overnight as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy remains in crisis from the pandemic even as she defended developing plans for future tax increases to pay for new public investments. Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0730 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCK DAILY YTD % DAILY S YTD % % % Japan -0.05 -4.94 -2.04 3.50 China -0.14 +0.05 -1.30 -3.05 India -0.34 +0.55 -1.05 4.85 Indonesia -0.42 -2.84 -1.56 2.95 Malaysia -0.29 -2.71 0.11 -1.86 Philippines +0.00 -1.36 0.79 -9.00 S.Korea -0.34 -4.18 -0.28 4.28 Singapore -0.26 -1.97 -0.15 9.95 Taiwan -0.20 -0.19 -0.90 8.82 Thailand -0.19 -3.42 -0.01 7.91 (Reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)