* Malaysian ringgit flat a day before central bank meeting * Singapore stocks shed 1.5% * S. Korean won, stocks rattled by virus surge By Anushka Trivedi July 7 (Reuters) - Asian currencies and shares slid on Wednesday as investors sold risky assets ahead of the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve"s June-meeting minutes, while the South Korean won hit a three-month low on worries about stricter COVID-19 curbs in the country. The won shed as much as 1%, while peers Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah and the Indian rupee eased 0.1% to 0.3%. The focus is on Fed"s minutes for clues on tapering of its bond-buying programme and rate hikes flagged by the central bank in June — moves that could diminish the appeal of emerging markets assets and have kept Asian currencies in check since. Most Asian equities slumped as investors were skittish after a mixed Wall Street session overnight. Singapore dropped 1.6% to lead losses, while Malaysia and Philippine stocks were around 0.6% lower. Market sentiment was also hit by weaker-than-expected U.S. services data due to labour shortages, highlighting the risks of a surge in COVID-19 cases in several regions of the world, said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG. Worries rose about the highly contagious Delta variant"s spread, which could potentially prompt another round of lockdowns and curbs even in developed economies that may derail the global recovery and hurt countries with slow vaccination rates. Seoul stocks fell 0.6% after South Korea reported more than 1,200 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily count since late-December. Officials extended curbs in Seoul by a week and warned restrictions could be tightened further across the country to contain the Delta variant-fuelled new wave of infections. Malaysian ringgit traded little changed a day before a central bank meeting where interest rates are expected to be left untouched, as per a Reuters poll. The country is currently under an extended nationwide lockdown. "The economy is likely to see an uneven impact from the latest lockdown, and more targeted measures, rather than a policy rate cut, may be more appropriate," Standard Chartered analysts wrote. HIGHLIGHTS ** Fed June meeting minutes due at 1800 GMT ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields were down 5.4 basis points at 6.535% ** Top losers on Singapore index include: Oversea-Chinese Bank and Keppel Corp, both down 2.6% Asia stock indexes & currencies at 0655 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCK STOCK S S YTD DAILY % % Japan -0.08 -6.73 -0.96 3.36 China +0.17 +0.94 0.65 2.31 India -0.26 -2.24 0.10 13.25 Indonesia -0.21 -3.14 -0.12 1.01 Malaysia -0.05 -3.27 -0.34 -6.20 Philippines -0.06 -3.52 -0.71 -2.76 S.Korea -0.74 -4.56 -0.60 14.33 Singapore -0.02 -1.96 -1.63 10.36 Taiwan -0.23 +1.80 -0.35 21.17 Thailand -0.28 -7.16 -0.53 9.22 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.