The won hit a two-week low on Wednesday as record daily COVID-19 infections in South Korea raised the prospect of stricter curbs, while Manila stocks reversed course to fall 2% after two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in the country. Other Asian markets treaded water ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting outcome later in the day. Expectations are that the central bank will announce an end to its bond-buying programme and pave the way for rate hikes next year. The Singapore dollar , Malaysia"s ringgit and the Thai baht were little changed against a firmer greenback, while the stock markets (.STI), (.KLSE), (.SETI) traded down around 0.2%. South Korea"s won dropped 0.2% and stocks (.KS11) were flat after authorities said a decision on strict distancing curbs would be made on Friday as COVID-19 infections among the vaccinated population picked up. read more Separately, data showed the country"s unemployment rate edged down in November, with jobs in the manufacturing sector and among regular workers rising. "The November job report confirmed a gradual but uneven improvement in the underlying labour market, but the emergence of Omicron and renewed tightening in restrictions may delay the recovery," wrote Angela Hsieh, an analyst at Barclays Bank. South Korea"s markets had been heavily favoured by foreign investors lately, with its portfolio inflows in November towering over peers as robust trade had brightened the country"s economic recovery prospects. Meanwhile, Philippine equities (.PSI) marked their worst session in two-weeks after two imported cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant were detected, giving up gains built on optimism around the economic reopening. read more Late on Tuesday, the government had upgraded its economic growth target for 2021 as speedy vaccinations helped with targeted reopening. read more Investors were also watchful in the run-up to the May 2022 presidential elections in the country. On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte"s preferred successor quit the race. read more Kuala Lumpur stocks were dragged by telecom operators after Reuters exclusively revealed that Malaysia"s major wireless carriers recommended the government allow a second 5G service to be set up which will be decided by January. HIGHLIGHTS ** Top losers on the Malaysian bourse include: Axiata Group (AXIA.KL) and Digi.com (DSOM.KL), both down 1.5%, Maxis Bhd and Telekom Malaysia (TLMM.KL) fall around 1% each. ** The Philippine peso fell 0.1%, a day before the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas monetary policy meeting where it is likely to leave rates untouched. read more ** China"s factory output grew faster than expected in November, supported by stronger energy production and a moderation in sky-high materials costs. read more Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0707 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan +0.04 -9.17 (.N225) 0.10 3.70 China +0.05 +2.58 (.SSEC) -0.36 5.05 India -0.26 -3.94 (.NSEI) -0.47 23.33 Indonesia -0.03 -2.06 (.JKSE) 0.23 10.90 Malaysia +0.00 -4.96 (.KLSE) -0.15 -9.13 Philippines -0.10 -4.61 (.PSI) -1.51 -0.10 S.Korea -0.22 -8.35 (.KS11) 0.05 4.03 Singapore +0.16 -3.42 (.STI) -0.14 9.59 Taiwan +0.06 +2.46 (.TWII) 0.35 19.87 Thailand -0.06 -10.27 (.SETI) -0.29 12.18 Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.