Updates as of 0427 GMT

By Sameer Manekar

April 14 (Reuters) - Stocks in Asian emerging markets rose on Monday for a third day in a row after the White House exempted smartphones and computers from "reciprocal" U.S. tariffs, although caution prevailed as President Donald Trump warned levies were still likely.

Most currencies in the region firmed against the dollar as the world's reserve currency continued to be whipsawed as Trump's on-again, off-again tariff policies eroded investors' faith in U.S. assets and the country's growth prospects.

Although stocks were buoyed by the temporary relief, traders in Asia remained concerned about the economic fallout of Trump's tariffs on the trade-reliant region and braced for a fresh week of chaotic policy announcements and abrupt turnabouts.

"Right or wrong, tariff weaponisation is here to stay. Markets may rally around an occasional tariff reprieve or trade deal, but the damage to the global order of trade and commerce is going to be lasting, we fear," DBS analysts led by Chief Economist Taimur Baig wrote.

"The pervasive uncertainty around U.S.-China trade, tariffs, and elevated volatility in markets should pose a drag on both investor sentiment in Asia and delay firms' investment plans."

An MSCI gauge of EM Asian equities .MIMS00000PUS gained more than 1% to scale a one-week high. Stocks in Taiwan .TWII, a major semiconductor producer, jumped more than 2%, while those in South Korea .KS11 advanced to their best level in 10 days.

Shares in Foxconn 2317.TW, Apple's AAPL.O largest iPhone assembler, jumped as much as 7.8%, with contract laptop maker Quanta 2382.TW and AI server-maker Inventec 2356.TW also advancing by 9.5% and 8.8%, respectively.

The two East Asian countries account for more than a third of the gauge.

In Singapore, the FTSE Straits Times index .STI rose as much as 2.3%, kicking off the week on a positive note after an 8.2% slump last week.

Meanwhile, the local dollar SGD= reversed early losses to trade slightly higher at 1.3167 against the greenback after the Monetary Authority of Singapore $(MAS)$ loosened monetary policy by slightly reducing the prevailing rate of appreciation of its exchange rate-based policy band.

Analysts at Maybank said the market had expected a larger easing move.

"We expect support for the SGD to remain and note that Singapore has other levers apart from monetary policy to respond to a more challenging external environment," Maybank analysts said.

"In the medium-term, we remain positive on the SGD given robust macro fundamentals and a monetary policy that has an appreciating currency as a default stance," they said, noting Singapore's "safe-haven" properties working in its favour.

The city-state's trade ministry also cut its 2025 growth forecast for the city-state to 0% to 2% from 1% to 3% previously, citing a significantly weaker external demand outlook.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Malaysia's ringgit MYR= and the Philippine peso PHP= appreciated slightly, while Indonesia's rupiah IDR= firmed to 16,767 a dollar, continuing its recovery after slumping to an all-time low last week.

China's yuan CNY=CFXS weakened 0.2% against the greenback, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC rose 0.9%.

Indonesia's stocks .JKSE advanced as much as 1.9% to a near three-week high, while benchmark gauges in Malaysia .KLSE, the Philippines .PSI, and Vietnam .VNI gained up to 2% each.

Markets in Thailand .SETI, THB=TH and India .NSEI, INR=IN were closed for a holiday.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Indonesia's 10-year benchmark bond yield at 7.067%

** MSCI EM .MSCIEF up 1.2%, while EM currencies gauge .MIEM00000CUS rises 0.4%

** China's Xi urges greater cooperation with Vietnam

** What Samsung and Vietnam stand to lose in Trump's tariff war

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com;))