Oct 10 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

Attention in Asia on Thursday is likely to center on Chinese

stocks, and whether the previous day's steep selloff extends

further, and the U.S. dollar, which is on its longest winning

streak in more than two years.

The economic calendar is light, with only wholesale inflation

and bank lending figures from Japan, and Philippines trade data,

on deck.

Currency and rates markets could get more impetus from Bank

of Japan deputy governor Ryozo Himino and Reserve Bank of

Australia assistant governor Sarah Hunter, who are scheduled to

speak at separate events in Japan and Australia, respectively.

The foreign exchange market, and the U.S. dollar in particular,

is increasingly playing on the minds of investors across the

continent.

The New Zealand dollar fell 1.3% on Wednesday after the

country's central bank delivered a 50-basis point cut in

interest rates and indicated it will ease policy further in the

coming months. The kiwi has weakened 5% this month, making it

the worst-performing major currency in the world this month.

The greenback rose against a basket of major currencies on

Wednesday for an eighth day, its best run since March-April,

2022, as the ongoing resilience of the U.S. economy draws flows

into U.S. assets and forces investors to rethink their dovish

outlook for U.S. interest rates.

Demand for U.S. assets from Asia is also strong.

Thursday may be a good test for Chinese markets, following

Wednesday's reality check. After surging as much as 40% in just

six trading days, benchmark equity indices in China slumped 7%

on Wednesday for their biggest one-day losses since February

2020.

Will the pullback provide a more attractive entry point for

investors who missed that initial whoosh? If so, the rally may

have more to run, but a second day of losses may suggest

investors need more from Beijing.

China's finance ministry will flesh out its plans to boost the

economy at a news conference on Saturday, a sign that Beijing

may be ready to roll out more forceful policies to revive

growth.

The People's Bank of China, meanwhile, has steered the yuan

away from the 7.00 per dollar level, at least for now. Tuesday's

fixing of 7.0709/$ was 0.9% higher than the previous fix,

marking the biggest one-day rise since May 2022.

Wednesday's fix was a bit lower but still comfortably above

pre-Golden Week holiday levels.

In Japan, inflationary pressures are expected to have eased

in September, with annual wholesale price inflation falling to

2.3% from 2.5% in August. That would be the lowest since April.

The monthly rate of deflation is expected to accelerate to

-0.3% from -0.2%, which would be the fastest rate of

month-on-month decline since May last year.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to markets on Thursday:

- Japan wholesale inflation (September)

- BOJ deputy governor Ryozo Himino speaks

- RBA assistant governor Sarah Hunter speaks