Indian and Philippine stocks fell on Thursday as broader Asian markets were weighed down by fears of policy tightening after a surge in U.S. inflation, while a firmer dollar kept the region"s currencies under pressure. The Thai baht led losses among currencies with a 0.4% drop and was set for its worst day since Nov.1, as the greenback rose to its highest level in 2021. Overnight data showed U.S. consumer prices in October gained the most in 31 years, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates even as a majority of Asian central backs stick to accommodative settings. "Near-term the case for an acceleration of Fed policy normalisation is growing... our view is of a minimum of two rate hikes in the second half of 2022," James Knightley, an analyst at ING, wrote in a note. Indian shares fell nearly 1%, while Philippine stocks dropped for a second day. "After six days of gains, the (Philippine) market seems to be correcting and profit-taking has been happening," said Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines. Philippine stocks had risen 5.2% in the six sessions of gains through Tuesday amid positive recovery projections as the economy grew more than expected in the third quarter. Stocks in Singapore were up 0.2% after swinging between small gains and losses throughout the session. Transport firm ComfortDelGro was the top loser, dropping nearly 4% after it halted plans for an initial public offering of its Australian unit. Indonesian stocks were flat after hitting a record high early in the session. Thai stocks eased 0.1% as an overnight plunge in oil prices drove index heavyweights PTT Exploration and Production Pcl and PTT Pcl about 1% lower. Among currencies, the Malaysian ringgit, Singapore"s dollar and the Philippine peso fell between 0.1% and 0.3% HIGHLIGHTS: ** Singapore"s 10-year benchmark yield is up 4 basis points at 1.767% ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 1.3 basis points at 6.17% ** Petroleum explorers PTT Exploration and Production Pcl and PTT Pcl weigh on the Thai stock benchmark Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0743 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan -0.09 -9.44 0.59 6.68 China -0.20 +1.97 1.15 1.72 India -0.15 -1.93 -0.85 27.77 Indonesia -0.11 -1.58 -0.03 11.74 Malaysia -0.28 -3.45 -0.04 -6.58 Philippines -0.22 -4.27 -0.60 2.69 S.Korea +0.01 -8.01 -0.18 1.79 Singapore -0.14 -2.49 0.17 13.82 Taiwan -0.16 +2.35 -0.61 18.46 Thailand -0.40 -8.88 0.00 12.50 (Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)