March 28 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

The yen dam has been breached, but hasn't burst.

Not yet, anyway.

The currency's brief slide on Wednesday to a new 34-year low

near 152 per dollar triggered an emergency meeting of Japan's

three main monetary authorities, suggesting direct intervention

in the market to stop what they consider disorderly and

speculative moves is imminent.

Asian market focus on Thursday will be on whether Tokyo

backs up its increasingly loud and frequent warnings with

action. Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said authorities could

take "decisive steps" - language he hasn't used since Japan last

intervened in 2022.

The dollar has pulled back towards 151.00 yen of its own

accord, a move that will extend if hedge funds and speculators

start covering their substantial short yen position. Tokyo's

helping hand would accelerate it further.

But currency traders appear relaxed or skeptical about

intervention. Dollar/yen volatility ticked up only slightly on

Wednesday, and is still around its lowest levels in two years.

Analysts at HSBC note the dollar is not in the 'bubble-like

state' of late 2022, so the risk is any action now would yield

"very limited success."

Analysts at Morgan Stanley say there is little incentive to

intervene from a fundamental perspective - Japan's terms of

trade have improved, the weak exchange rate has hugely boosted

exporter revenues and rate differentials are still heavily

against the yen.

Joseph Wang, a former senior trader at the New York Fed, was

more blunt: "Time for the authorities to put up or shut up. But

honestly, my guess is intervention would be a waste and just buy

a little time," he tweeted on Wednesday.

Japan's officials may not fully welcome the yen's weakness, but

equity investors do. The Nikkei is on the brink of new highs, up

nearly 22% so far this year and on track for its best quarter

since Q2 2009.

Another 1.5% to the upside by the end of the week will seal

the index's best quarterly performance on record.

If Japanese stocks are on a roll, however, Chinese stocks

are again threatening to roll over. The country's two main

indexes slumped more than 1% on Wednesday, their steepest

decline in a month and pushing them into the red for March.

Authorities in Beijing may have welcomed Chinese industrial

profits swinging back into positive territory, but they will not

want to see stocks head back to their recent five-year lows and

overseas investment dry up.

In some respects, the keenest observers of whether Japan

intervenes in the FX market are in Beijing. The yen is at its

weakest level in more than 30 years against China's yuan, giving

Japan a major competitive advantage over its rival.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to markets on Thursday:

- Australia retail sales (February)

- Thailand industrial production (February)

- Bank of Japan summary of opinions from March 18 to 19

policy meeting