* Foreign investors bargain-hunt Taiwan shares - analyst * Taiwan in talks with nations for COVID-19 vaccines * Worries in Indonesia on a surge in cases after holidays By Nikhil Nainan May 18 (Reuters) - Battered stock markets in Taiwan and Singapore jumped on Tuesday, as investors shrugged off fears over the potential impact of renewed coronavirus restrictions, while a weaker U.S. dollar lent support to Asia"s emerging currencies. Taiwan stocks closed 5.2% higher, while markets in neighbouring Japan, which is dealing with a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and slow vaccination drive, jumped 2.1%. South Korea and Singapore climbed more than 1% each. While much of the Western world eased restrictions, many Asian countries imposed tighter curbs as fresh cases emerge while governments struggle to ramp up their vaccination programmes. Singapore and Taiwan, hailed for their past success in taming the spread of the virus, tightened curbs again recently, with their stock markets losing 4.3% and 10.4% this month, as of Monday"s close. Foreign investors took advantage of the previous session"s drop to pile into Taiwanese stocks, offering a lift to overall consumer confidence, analysts said. "However, the key indicator going forward will still be on how the pandemic develops," Capital Futures Corp analyst Yeason Jung said. So far Singapore has been among the fastest in the region to inoculate its population, while Capital Economics says "Taiwan has plenty of fiscal firepower" and expects support measures to be announced soon. With reported cases under 300,000 for a second straight day in India, the country"s benchmark Nifty 50 index hit its highest in more than two months and the rupee strengthened 0.3%. The South Korean won alongside the Taiwan and Singaporean dollar led gains in the region"s currencies ahead of minutes on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve"s most recent meeting, which may give clues about where monetary policy is headed this year. Comments by Dallas Fed Bank President that he did not expect interest rates to rise until next year reassured markets that the central bank would not tighten early, keeping the dollar lower against most major currencies. However, stocks markets in the developing economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines were trading lower as worries over the health crisis and its impact on their economies remained intact. The rupiah weakened 0.1%, while benchmark 10-year bond yields edged higher. Malaysia, which is under a national lockdown, reported its deadliest day on Monday, while fears rise that mass gatherings in Indonesia over Eid could trigger a surge of new cases. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Taiwan mobilises diplomats to seek out COVID-19 shots, including from the U.S. ** World Economic Forum cancels 2021 annual meeting in Singapore ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields up 6.80 basis points to 6.473%​​ Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0636 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD % Japan +0.10 -5.35 2.09 3.51 China +0.19 +1.58 0.04 1.33 India +0.24 +0.04 1.24 8.05 Indonesia -0.07 -1.75 -0.49 -2.91 Malaysia +0.12 -2.52 -0.08 -2.77 Philippines +0.15 +0.42 -0.62 -12.54 S.Korea +0.38 -3.92 1.23 10.43 Singapore +0.32 -0.74 1.61 10.04 Taiwan +0.37 +1.94 5.16 9.59 Thailand -0.03 -4.71 1.12 8.08 (Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Liang-sa Loh in Taipei; Editing by Sam Holmes and Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.