(Corrects punctuation in paragraph 5.)

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from

Ankur Banerjee:

A data heavy session, headlined by euro zone inflation

figures for April, awaits Europe in an action-packed week that

got off to a volatile start courtesy of the flailing yen.

The will-they-or-won't-they discussion has moved to

did-they-or-didn't-they a day after a suspected intervention by

Japanese authorities hauled the yen off 34-year lows.

A more than 10% decline against the dollar had traders

pondering not if but when Tokyo would intervene to prop up the

battered currency.

The answer it seems was at 160 per dollar, a level not seen

since April 1990 and briefly breached on Monday. The yen surged

to as high as 154.40 on Monday, with traders citing yen-buying

intervention. It was back around 157 on Tuesday.

The details are murky and perhaps the confirmation remains

some time away as Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda

declined again on Tuesday to comment on whether the finance

ministry had intervened to prop up the yen a day earlier.

Kanda, however, said authorities were ready to deal with

foreign exchange matters "24 hours".

"Whether it's London, New York or Wellington, it doesn't

make a difference."

Ominous perhaps for the yen bears, who have piled on short

positions on yen at record levels, with the latest weekly data

from U.S. regulator showing speculators' largest net short yen

position since June 2007.

Tokyo's move may yet turn out to be futile, analysts say,

pointing to the wide yield differential between Japan and the

U.S. but as our Breakingviews colleagues argue perhaps there are

some merits to intervention.

Traders also await the Federal Reserve's policy decision,

due on Wednesday when the U.S. central bank is expected to keep

rates stead but take a hawkish stance after hotter than

anticipated inflation reports in March.

No such worries in Europe, with inflation for April expected

to stay steady at 2.4%, according to a Reuters poll. Markets now

price in 67 basis points of cuts from European Central Bank this

year, compared with 35 bps of easing expected from the Fed.

In a surprise piece of corporate news, HSBC ( HSBC ) said

its chief executive Noel Quinn will retire. Quinn overhauled the

bank in the past five years through a sweeping series of asset

sales across the globe.

Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday:

Economic events: Euro zone inflation report for April,

German retail sales data for March, France March producer prices

Earnings: Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Banco Santander,

Deutsche Lufthansa and Adidas

(By Ankur Banerjee. Editing by Sam Holmes.)