Baht eyes best day in two weeks
Asian FX trade mixed
Stocks largely up
Indonesian rupiah extends gains

June 6 Reuters Most Asian currencies traded mixed on Tuesday as economic data in the U.S. pointed to sluggish growth in the country39;s services sector, further bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve next week.

The Malaysian ringgit and Thailand39;s baht depreciated as much as 0.5 and 0.7, respectively. The Indonesian rupiah and India39;s rupee , on the other hand, rose 0.3 and 0.1, respectively.

The U.S. services sector barely grew in May as new orders slowed, pushing the measure of prices paid by businesses for inputs to a threeyear low.

The U.S. dollar was largely subdued as data disappointed to the downside. The dollar index fell to 103.96 at 0358 GMT, after climbing as high as 104.40 in the previous session.

A lacklustre U.S. dollar is positive news for emerging Asian markets as this could improve the balance of payment position while attracting capital inflows and reducing foreign debt burden.

The unexpected rebound in U.S. CPI, an upward revision to 1Q GDP, and somewhat resilient labour market prints still point to some risks that the Fed may adopt a hawkish stance at the upcoming policy meeting, even if it skips a hike, Frances Cheung, a rates strategist at OCBC, said in a note.

In the Philippines, annual inflation slowed for a fourth consecutive month in May as food prices continued to ease, giving the central…