GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks power to one-month high

                                
 * Shares ex-Japan power to highest in month
                                
 * China GDP rises 7.9 pct for second quarter
                                
 * U.S. share gains add to hope of recovery
                                
 * Dollar and euro steady vs yen, CIT news sparks caution
                                
 By Elaine Lies
                                
 TOKYO, July 16 (Reuters) - Asian shares jumped on Thursday,
buoyed by strong U.S. earnings and global recovery hopes after
China's economy grew faster than forecast in the second
quarter.
                                
 Tokyo shares hit a one-week high and shares elsewhere in
Asia -Pacific powered to their highest in a month. The dollar
and euro held broadly steady against the yen, base metals
prices rose and crude oil futures edged higher.
                                
 But markets were keeping a wary eye on the fate of CIT
Group Inc <CIT.N> a U.S. lender to thousands of small and
mid-sized businesses, after bailout talks with the government
ended, a move that could ultimately drive it to bankruptcy.
[ID:nN15377230]
                                
 U.S. stocks surged 3 percent or more on Wednesday, with the
S&P 500 racking up its three best days since March, after
results from bellwether Intel Corp <INTC.O> beat expectations
to lift hopes for a rebound in technology spending and improved
corporate profitability. [.N]
                                
 "Added to hopes for a recovery in U.S. corporate earnings,
investors are generally welcoming growing signs of a recovery
in U.S. economic data," said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief equity
marketing officer at Tokai Tokyo Securities in Tokyo.
                                
 China said its second quarter gross domestic product rose
7.9 percent against the previous year, beating expectations for
a 7.5 percent rise, while its first half GDP rose 7.1 percent
against a year earlier.
                                
 Optimism was reinforced in the United States by
manufacturing data that suggested the recession is abating, as
well as minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent
policy-setting meeting that showed officials judged that the
U.S. economy's contraction was slowing. [ID:nN15341987]
                                
 Asian shares across the region rose 1.8 percent to their
highest since mid-June. <.MIAPJ0000PUS>
                                
 Japan's benchmark Nikkei <.N225> outperformed with gains of
2.2 percent to 9,475.04, its highest in a week, as high-tech
exporters climbed with the additional boost of the weaker yen.
                                
 Australian shares rose nearly 2 percent, close to a
one-month high, as miners rose on firmer base metals prices,
with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> rising as far as
4,010.3 in early trade.
                                
 Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T> surged 8.9 percent after the
Nikkei business daily said Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> planned
to supply core components for hybrid vehicles to smaller rival
Mazda. [ID:nT205470] Toyota climbed 2.9 percent.
                                
 DOLLAR, EURO DRIFT VS YEN
                                
 Japanese manufacturer confidence improved for four months
in a row as exports and industrial output picked up, a Reuters
poll showed, but the mood among service sector firms sagged as
domestic demand remained limp. [ID:nT205139]
                                
 The dollar edged down 0.1 percent to 94.07 yen <JPY=>, but
remained broadly supported by the rise in U.S. equities and
growing confidence in the U.S. economy. The U.S. currency has
rebounded against the yen after hitting a five-month low of
91.73 yen on trading platform EBS earlier this week. [USD/]
                                
 Some traders said the news about CIT gave investors an
excuse to take some profits on yen crosses.
                                
 The Australian dollar slipped 0.7 percent to 75.19 yen
<AUDJPY=R> and the New Zealand dollar dipped 0.6 percent to
60.77 yen <NZDJPY=R>.
                                
 "If share prices were to fall because of (CIT), we could
see moves that are opposite from what occurred yesterday and
see some buying back of the yen," said Tohru Sasaki, chief
foreign exchange strategist at JPMorgan Chase Bank in Tokyo.
                                
 "It is possible that financial markets could move a bit
towards avoiding risk-taking," he added.
                                
 Yields on U.S. 10-year Treasury notes <US10YT=RR> stood at
3.569 percent, down nearly four basis points from U.S. trade
but up from a two-month low of 3.26 percent hit on Monday.
                                
 September JGB futures fell 0.29 point to 138.35 <2JGBv1>,
sliding from a 3-1/2-mth peak of 138.97 hit last week.
                                
 Spot gold <XAU=> edged down slightly to 936.20 compared to
New York's notional close of $938.45. It jumped to a two-week
high the previous day when U.S. consumer prices data stoked
fears of rising inflation.
 (Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi and Masayuki Kitano;
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)