To The Moon

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By Roshan Thomas

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Asian equities slipped on Friday while currencies held steady, as traders stayed on the sidelines after U.S. jobs data offered little clarity on when the Federal Reserve might ease policy.

The MSCI index of Asian emerging-market equities .MIMS00000PUS dropped 2.6%, erasing the 1% gain from the previous session, while the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000PUS eased 2.4%.

The sharp shift in sentiment followed concerns over lofty valuations and rising tech spending, which weighed on a rally fuelled by AI darling Nvidia's NVDA.O positive outlook and stronger-than-expected U.S. September jobs data.

However, a higher U.S. unemployment rate and downward revisions to previous months have left the Fed with an uncertain outlook as it considers a potential rate cut next month.

"The best explanation for the sell-off in the markets today is related to monetary policy uncertainty. While the chances of a cut are marginally higher, the markets are still implying a line ball decision in December," said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 slumped 4.2% earlier in the session, erasing the 3.5% gains fuelled by Nvidia from the previous session. The benchmark was last down 3.9% and has fallen 4% this week, marking its worst weekly performance since late February.

South Korean heavyweights Samsung Electronics 005930.KS and SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 6.1% and 10%, respectively.

"In Korea, Samsung and SK Hynix are under outsized pressure because the memory-chip rally is now facing a potential supply-side shift, reports of buyers diversifying toward Chinese DRAM suppliers have amplified concerns that current pricing strength may be peaking," said Tareck Horchani from Maybank Securities.

Taiwan's tech-heavy index .TWII, down 3.4% so far this week in its worst showing since early April, fell 3.7% on Friday, with TSMC 2330.TW sliding nearly 5%.

Singapore's Straits Times Index .STI slipped more than 1%, with utility firm Sembcorp Industries SCIL.SI among the biggest decliners, down 3.7%.

Bangkok stocks .SETI fell 1.6% to their lowest point since September 5, while Kuala Lumpur .KLSE was down 0.1%.

Indonesia's Jakarta Stock Exchange .JKSE edged 0.3% lower, capping a week in which the central bank held rates steady as expected, prioritising the transmission of earlier cuts amid renewed rupiah weakness that complicates its easing path.

The Indonesian currency IDR= edged 0.1% higher on the day.

Other currency markets in the region were stable against a steady dollar index =USD on Friday.

The Philippine peso PHP= and the South Korean won KRW=KFTC inched up 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, while the Malaysian ringgit MYR= was up 0.3%.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Japan's cabinet approves lavish $135 billion stimulus as markets fret over fiscal policy

** Singapore Q3 GDP grows 4.2% from a year earlier; upgrades 2025 outlook

** RBNZ set to cut interest rates once more to 2.25% in November - Reuters poll

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com;))