By Rishav Chatterjee and Adwitiya Srivastava

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares rose on Wednesday after a five-session losing streak, while currencies in emerging Asian economies were stuck in a tight range, with the Vietnam dong trading steady after hitting a record low in the previous session.

The Indonesian benchmark stock index .JKSE rose 1.2% after hitting its lowest since December 2021 on Tuesday, led by a 7% rebound in finance company Barito Renewables Energy BREN.JK.

Ride-hailing and e-commerce firm GoTo Gojek Tokopedia GOTO.JK, which is reportedly in advanced merger talks with U.S.-listed Grab GRAB.O, advanced as much as 2.5%.

BRI Danareksa Sekuritas analysts said the likelihood of a merger is high, while remaining confident in GoTo's current operating format.

Stocks in Indonesia have fallen this year with overseas investors emerging as net sellers as global trade tensions rise.

Markets are also cautious on President Prabowo Subianto's spending on social programmes and dull local economic growth.

The rupiah IDR=, which has been the worst performing Asian currency so far this year with a drop of 1.6%, was trading slightly higher against the U.S. dollar.

Among other stock markets in Asia, Taipei .TWII and Kuala Lumpur .KLSE rose 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

Stocks in Singapore .STI, which touched a record high earlier this week, were trading up 0.1%.

Gains in Singapore equities reflect net institutional flows into stocks including Singapore Telecommunications STEL.SI, Singapore Exchange SGXL.SI and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation OCBC.SI.

"Singapore's consensus economic outlook for 2025 is cautiously optimistic, anticipating steady growth, moderating inflation, and ongoing global uncertainties that include geopolitical and trade tensions, and the outlook for global financial conditions," analysts at Singapore Exchange said.

Most currencies in emerging Asia traded in a tight range as investors assessed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's signal of a patient path for rate cuts, while awaiting a U.S. inflation report due later in the day.

Vietnam's dong VND= inched up 0.1%, with traders staying cautious over the impact of U.S. tariffs on the trade-dependent economy.

"Vietnam stands out as the most exposed to higher across-the-board U.S. tariffs and being a priority target if the U.S. focuses on economies among the top contributors of the U.S. trade deficit," ANZ analysts said in a note.

The Singapore dollar SGD= was trading more or less unchanged, while its Taiwanese counterpart TWD=TP rose about 0.1%. The Malaysian ringgit MYR= climbed 0.3%, while the Philippine peso PHP= slipped 0.1%.

Thailand's markets were closed for a public holiday.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** BI says liquidity measure will support government housing goal

** Malaysia's economic growth likely softened in Q4

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)