May 9 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

Asian markets are set for a sluggish open on Thursday, with

mixed U.S. corporate earnings, a firm dollar, and an upward

drift in U.S. bond yields dampening investors' appetite for

risky assets.

The Japanese yen is back in the spotlight, its latest bout of

weakness prompting warnings from Tokyo on Wednesday that, so far

at least, seem to have gone unheeded. The dollar is on the front

foot and gunning for 156.00 yen.

There are a few potential market-moving economic indicators and

events on Thursday for investors to get their teeth into,

including Chinese trade data, a monetary policy decision from

Malaysia, and first quarter GDP figures from the Philippines.

Asian markets won't get much steer from Wall Street, which

ended mixed on Wednesday. One source of relief may be oil -

Brent crude printed a two-month low below $82 a barrel, and

although inflation worries are running high, oil is down around

10% in recent weeks.

Japan's financial heavy hitters were out on Wednesday

warning that the yen's weakness could trigger action from

policymakers.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank

could raise rates again, and Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki

voiced "strong concern" over the negative impact of a weak yen

and repeated Tokyo's readiness to intervene in the FX market.

The warnings have had no effect and the dollar was changing

hands at 155.50 yen late on Wednesday, up on the day and back to

where it was at the BOJ's April 26 policy announcement. It is

now only two yen away from where it was when Japan carried out

its second suspected round of intervention on May 1.

On the data front, figures from Beijing are expected to show

Chinese imports and exports swung to year-on-year growth in

April. But export growth is expected to be modest as factory

owners wrestle with weak overseas demand and overcapacity.

Trade relations between China and the West remain fraught, with

the latest twist coming from U.S. tech giant Intel saying its

sales would take a hit after the U.S. revoked some of the

chipmaker's export licenses for a customer in China.

Bank Negara Malaysia will leave its key interest rate at

3.00% for as sixth consecutive meeting and keep it there at

least until 2026, despite a weakening currency and a steady

inflation outlook, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Figures from Manila, meanwhile, are expected to show that the

Philippines' economy expanded at an annual rate of 5.9% in the

first quarter, but quarter-on-quarter growth is expected to

halve to 1.0% from 2.1% in the October-December period.

The Japanese earnings season rolls on, with major companies

including Nissan, Nippon Steel, Panasonic and Softbank reporting

full-year 2024 results on Thursday.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to markets on Thursday:

- China trade (April)

- Malaysia interest rate decision

- Philippines GDP (Q1)