Oct 31 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

Thursday is shaping up to be a huge day for markets in Asia as

investors brace for a deluge of major corporate and economic

newsflow, topped by the Bank of Japan's policy decision and

China's official purchasing managers index surveys for October.

Third-quarter GDP figures from Taiwan and Hong Kong, retail

sales from Japan and Australia, and the latest earnings reports

from regional giants such as Samsung, Panasonic and Sumitomo are

also on tap.

U.S. bond yields were little changed on Wednesday, holding

steady around levels not seen since early July, while the dollar

eased back from Tuesday's three-month high. At least that

represents no additional tightening of financial conditions.

But the 10-year yield snaps a run of five monthly declines,

going into the last trading day of October up nearly 50 basis

points in the month. The dollar is up over 3%, poised for its

biggest monthly rise in more than two years.

U.S. equities on Wednesday failed to give a clear steer either,

with Wall Street ending slightly lower, but investors in Asia

may get some impetus from third-quarter earnings from Microsoft ( MSFT )

and Facebook parent Meta Platforms ( META ) after the

close on Wednesday.

Both offered upbeat outlooks, but in after-hours trading

Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares were slightly higher and Meta shares were off

3%.

Shifting the focus back to Asia, attention on Thursday will

be firmly fixed on Tokyo, specifically BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's

press conference after the central bank's widely expected

decision to leave key interest rates on hold.

Investors will be paying close attention not only to Ueda's

view on the macroeconomic outlook, but also how he thinks the

political gridlock in the country following Sunday's

inconclusive general election might impact the central bank.

Japan's yen remains on the weak side going into the meeting

at around 153.00 per dollar, while the Nikkei 225 index is back

above 39000 points and up 3.5% so far in October. That would

mark its best month since February.

Investors also have China's 'official' PMIs for October to look

forward to. It will be too early for Beijing's blizzard of

fiscal, monetary and liquidity stimulus measures to have had a

direct impact, but any positive surprise will perhaps be seized

upon more than usual.

Economists polled by Reuters expect National Statistics

Bureau's manufacturing PMI to come in at 49.9, showing that

factory activity contracted in October for a sixth month, but by

the tiniest of margins and close to swinging back into growth.

Chinese stocks continue to trade heavily, their weakness on

Wednesday pulling broader Asian stocks down 0.8% to a one-month

low. The MSCI Asia/Pacific ex-Japan equity index is down 3.5% in

October, on track for its worst month since January.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to markets on Thursday:

- Japan interest rate decision

- China 'official' manufacturing, services PMIs

- Taiwan GDP (Q3)