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SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, June 28 (Reuters) - The yuan steadied against the dollar on Wednesday, after signs that the central bank has grown increasingly uncomfortable with recent weakness in the Chinese currency. China's monetary authorities took forceful action to support the sliding currency for the first time in nearly eight months on Tuesday, with state banks acting to put a floor under the yuan even as officials pledged more stimulus for the flagging economy. On Wednesday, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 7.2101 per dollar prior to market opening, 3 pips weaker than the previous fix of 7.2098. Unlike the firmer-than-expected fixings on Monday and Tuesday -- which were seen as supportive moves -- Wednesday's official guidance rate came largely in line with market projections, traders and analysts said. And it was 9 pips weaker than Reuters' estimate of 7.2092. Market participants closely monitor the central bank's daily midpoint setting, and they widely take deviations between the official rate and their predictions as a sign showing the official stance towards the foreign exchange market. "Tweaking the fixing could ease the one-sided depreciation pressure day-to-day or in the short-term," said Tommy Wu, senior China economist at Commerzbank. "However, it is unlikely to alter the weakening trend longer out. We may need to see additional policy stimulus being rolled out and an improvement in economic fundamentals to halt or reverse the yuan's downside pressure." In the spot market, the onshore yuan opened at 7.2225 per dollar and was changing hands at 7.2265 at midday, 8 pips firmer than the previous late session close. The spot yuan hit a trough of 7.2425 per dollar on Monday, the weakest level since November. And the Chinese currency has lost more than 4% against the buoyant dollar so far this year to become one of the worst performing Asian currencies. Traders said widening yield differentials between the world's two largest economies against the backdrop of monetary policy divergence should continue to pile downside pressure on the yuan, as China is poised to ease further to aid economic recovery. State bank action this week suggested the 7.25 per dollar level is probably the floor for the yuan in the short term, said a trader at a Chinese bank, noting depreciation pressure may persist due to upcoming dividend payments. Overseas listed Chinese companies usually purchase foreign exchange for dividend payments to their shareholders between June and August. Separately, profits at China's industrial firms tumbled 18.8% year-on-year in the first five months of 2023, data showed on Wednesday, as company margins were squeezed by softening demand amid a stumbling post-COVID economic recovery. Currency traders said they will monitor June factory activity data due on Friday for more clues on the health of the economy. By midday, the global dollar index rose to 102.593 from the previous close of 102.492, while the offshore yuan was trading at 7.2319 per dollar. The yuan market at 0259 GMT: ONSHORE SPOT: Item Current Previous Change PBOC midpoint 7.2101 7.2098 0.00% Spot yuan 7.2265 7.2273 0.01% Divergence from 0.23% midpoint* Spot change YTD -4.52% Spot change since 2005 14.53% revaluation Key indexes: Item Current Previous Change Dollar index 102.593 102.492 0.1 *Divergence of the dollar/yuan exchange rate. Negative number indicates that spot yuan is trading stronger than the midpoint. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) allows the exchange rate to rise or fall 2% from official midpoint rate it sets each morning. OFFSHORE CNH MARKET Instrument Current Difference from onshore Offshore spot yuan 7.2319 -0.07% * Offshore 7.02 2.71% non-deliverable forwards ** *Premium for offshore spot over onshore **Figure reflects difference from PBOC's official midpoint, since non-deliverable forwards are settled against the midpoint. . (Reporting by Winni Zhou and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Kim Coghill)