* Taiwan inflation trade data for August awaited * China"s exports grew unexpectedly in August * Philippines August inflation at 4.9%, beats expectations By Harish Sridharan Sept 7 (Reuters) - Equities in most emerging Asian markets saw modest gains on Tuesday after China"s August exports grew faster than expected, while currencies in the region were mixed against a weaker dollar. China"s exports data for August, helped by solid global demand, helped take some of the pressure off the world"s second-biggest economy as it navigates its way through headwinds from several fronts. While China"s services sector has been weighed down by the local spread of the Delta coronavirus, strong growth in external demand will act as a cushion for the likely temporary slowdown, economists at HSBC Global Research said in a note. Chinese equities rose as much as 1.7%, hitting their highest since Feb. 22, to lead gains in the region. The yuan was unchanged. Regional currencies were mixed, even as the dollar held near a one-month low due to the possibility of a delay in monetary policy tapering in the United States. The Singapore dollar, Malaysian ringgit, Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah traded flat to 0.1% higher, while the Indian rupee dropped 0.4%. Thai shares dropped 0.2% even as data on Monday showed easing COVID-19 curbs and higher foreign inflows had pushed investor confidence in the stock market for the next three months to a five-month high. Taiwan"s exports likely rose for a 14th straight month, according to a Reuters survey, while a separate poll showed the island"s inflation is expected to rise 1.90% from a year earlier, compared with an increase of 1.95% in July. The Taiwanese dollar, among the best performing currencies in the region this year, was flat. Philippine stocks added 0.5% to hit their highest since mid-July. Government data showed the country"s annual inflation in August accelerated to its highest since December 2018. HIGHLIGHTS ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 2.7 basis points at 6.12% ** In the Philippines, top index gainer was Globe Telecom Inc, up 3.3% ** Asia Holdings Co Ltd top loser in the Korea SE Kospi Index Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0807 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCK DAILY YTD % DAILY S YTD % % % Japan -0.11 -6.10 0.86 9.15 China -0.02 +1.07 1.51 5.86 India -0.36 -0.42 0.26 24.61 Indonesia +0.07 -1.20 -0.24 2.23 Malaysia -0.02 -3.06 -0.03 -2.83 Philippines -0.16 -3.96 0.52 -3.18 S.Korea -0.11 -6.18 -0.50 10.93 Singapore -0.04 -1.63 0.00 9.05 Taiwan -0.04 +2.93 -0.38 18.30 Thailand -0.10 -7.82 -0.17 13.54 (Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.