Oct 25 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

A day of general calm across world markets on Thursday that saw

the dollar and U.S. bond yields soften and stocks consolidate

bodes well for markets in Asia on Friday as attention focuses on

political and economic events in Japan.

Voters go to the polls in Sunday's general election, and several

recent polls suggest the ruling coalition could lose its

parliamentary majority. From a market perspective, this could

deprive the Bank of Japan the political stability needed to

steer a smooth liftoff from near-zero interest rates.

Tokyo consumer inflation, a leading indicator of nationwide

price trends and the main highlight of Asia's economic calendar

on Friday, could also give the BOJ food for thought ahead of its

policy meeting next week.

Inflation in Tokyo likely undershot the central bank's price

target for the first time in five months, according to a Reuters

poll, coming in at an annual rate of 1.7%. That would follow a

2.0% rise in September and mark the first time the data misses

the BOJ's 2% target since May.

A senior International Monetary Fund official on Thursday said

any further rate hikes in Japan should be conducted at a

"gradual pace," noting that BOJ moves could impact financial

markets of other countries where Japanese investors hold large

positions.

Krishna Srinivasan, the director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific

Department, also said that most Asian central banks have room to

cut rates, as the start of the U.S. easing cycle reduces fears

of an unwelcome weakening of their currencies.

What's more, risks to Asia's economic outlook are tilted to

the downside, he added.

The Japanese yen recovered some ground on Thursday, clocking

its biggest rise in a month and pushing the dollar down to

151.50 yen from Wednesday's three-month high above 153.00.

The yen's recent weakness, however, has lured overseas

investors into Japanese markets. Figures on Thursday showed that

foreigners bought Japanese stocks for a fourth straight week

through Oct. 19, although caution ahead of Sunday's election and

upcoming corporate earnings releases tempered the inflows.

Despite the modest reversal on Thursday, the spike in the

dollar and U.S. bond yields recently to three-month highs has

helped put Asian stocks on course for a third consecutive weekly

loss.

Nor have the yen's recent weakness and foreign investor

inflow prevented Japanese stocks from losing ground, and the

Nikkei goes into Friday's session down more than 2% so far this

week.

Elsewhere, industrial production figures from Singapore are

expected to show a sharp slowdown in September from unusually

strong activity in August. Economists expect year-on-year growth

of 3.5%, down from 21%, which was fastest since 2021 and one of

the strongest of the past 15 years.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to markets on Friday:

- Tokyo CPI inflation (October)

- Japan services PPI inflation (September)

- Singapore industrial production (September)