April 19 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

Asian markets will hope to end a bruising week on a positive

note on Friday, but fraying global sentiment and a reluctance to

take on much risk ahead of the weekend amid persistent Middle

East tensions could limit any upside.

Headlines from the great and the good of global finance gathered

in Washington continue to keep traders on edge, especially

regarding exchange rates and central banks' policy path relative

to an increasingly hawkish Fed.

The world's biggest exercise in democracy gets underway on

Friday too, as the first of seven phases opens in India's

general election, with 166 million voters across 21 states and

territories casting their vote.

Asia's economic calendar, meanwhile, sees the release of first

quarter GDP from Malaysia and Japanese inflation for March. The

latter could determine whether the dollar, currently around

154.50 yen, makes another push to break above 155.00.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central

bank may raise interest rates again if the yen's declines

significantly push up domestic inflation.

The IMF on Thursday urged Asian central banks to focus on

domestic inflation and avoid tying their policy decisions too

closely to anticipated moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

On Wednesday, the United States, Japan and South Korea issued a

joint statement to "consult closely" on the yen and won's recent

weakness against the dollar.

The greenback is firm, rallying 3% in the last few weeks to

its highest since November.

U.S. bond yields are ticking higher again and will post

their third weekly rise in a row, with the 2-year Treasury yield

back up at 5%. The two- and 10-year yields are up 40-45 basis

points in the last few weeks.

That's a tightening of financial conditions that emerging

markets are struggling to handle. Asian stocks are eyeing their

biggest weekly fall since January, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan

index down 2.3% this week and off 5% from its high last week.

Japan's Nikkei, which hit an all-time high above 41,000 points

in late March, is off 7% since then and on Thursday hit a

two-month low. A flat close or fall on Friday will seal its

worst week since December 2022.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500, meanwhile, have fallen five days in

a row, their worst runs since October and December 2022,

respectively.

Figures on Thursday, meanwhile, could help soothe fears that

the yuan's weakness will accelerate capital flight out of the

country - foreign investors increased their holdings of China's

onshore yuan bonds in March for a seventh straight month.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to markets on Friday:

- Japan CPI inflation (March)

- Malaysia GDP (Q1)

- India general election opens