GLOBAL MARKETS-Japanese shares surge; Asian auto makers gain

                                
 * Asian shares gain in start to new quarter after March
rally
                                
 * Auto makers up on hopes for 'controlled' bankruptcy at GM
                                
 * Euro falls; focus on ECB, G20
                                
 * NZ dollar tumbles after central bank says wants low rates
                                
 By Rafael Nam
                                
 HONG KONG, April 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei surged 3
percent but other Asian stocks started the quarter more
cautiously as reports of an orderly bankruptcy for General
Motors supported sentiment.
                                
 Still, investors are worried about the broader economic
impact if General Motors Corp <GM.N> and Chrysler, another
struggling auto maker, go under after the U.S. administration
this week rejected their turnaround plans and set new
conditions for a rescue.
                                
 "If things are decided for U.S. automakers relatively
quickly, this will remove one bad factor for the market," said
Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities in
Japan.
                                
 European shares opened around 1 percent lower and S&P 500
futures <SPc1> were down about half a percent ahead of a G20
summit that aims to tackle the global financial crisis.
                                
 The euro fell ahead of a European Central Bank meeting
later on Thursday that is widely expected to agree to cut
rates, leaving investors to focus on any hints it might give on
whether it will look beyond interest rates to unconventional
methods fight the crisis.
                                
 In Asia, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside
Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> pared earlier gains of as much as 1.4
percent but was up 0.6 percent. It rose 14.6 percent in March.
                                
 Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> rose 3 percent, led by a
rally in car makers such as Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> that
sparked a 5.3 percent rally in the autos subindex <.ITEQP.T>
                                
 Other Asia auto makers, including South Korea's Hyundai
Motor <005380.KS>, also rose. Hyundai was up 4.7 percent.
                                
 GM warned on Tuesday there was a rising chance it could
file for bankruptcy by June, as Fiat SpA <FIA.MI> and Chrysler
LLC executives met in a race to complete a tie-up the U.S.
government says Chrysler needs to survive.
                                
 News agency Bloomberg reported that the Obama
administration was looking at a prepackaged bankruptcy for GM,
while The New York Times said the U.S. White House was looking
to ease the top U.S. auto maker into a "controlled" bankruptcy.
[ID:nN018859]
                                
 Some analysts have warned that the collapse of such big
automakers will reverberate beyond North America given the
network of global supplies chains.
                                
 Data on Wednesday showed Japanese business confidence
tumbled to a record low, while reports on Tuesday showed
plunging U.S. home prices and consumer confidence holding at
just above record lows. [ID:nT189222] and [ID:nN31416180]
                                
 Still, deep interest rate cuts by major central banks and
stimulus measures are at least comforting stock markets in
Asia.
                                
 "The market environment has turned fairly positive. Easier
monetary policy worldwide has allowed more liquidity to flow
into markets," said Kwak Joong-bo, a market analyst at Hana
Daetoo Securities in Seoul.
                                
 Indexes in South Korea <.KS11> surged 2.3 percent as data
showing a 21.2 percent drop in exports in March from a year
earlier offered tentative signs that the global demand slump
may be bottoming out.
                                
 Shares in Taiwan <.TWII> rose 2 percent, while markets in
Australia <.AXJO> and Hong Kong <.HSI> posted modest falls.
                                
 ECB TO MEET
                                
 Currency investors have remained cautious.  U.S., British
and Japanese central banks have turned to unconventional steps
to pump funds into their economies, including outright buying
of government and corporate debt.
                                
 It is not clear whether the European Central Bank will
follow suit, though analysts do widely expect it to cut its
main interest rate by 50 basis points to a record low of 1
percent at its policy meeting on Thursday.
                                
 The euro was down 0.4 percent from late New York trade the
previous day to $1.3193 <EUR=> and shed 0.7 percent to 130.29
yen <EURJPY=>.
                                
 The dollar index, a gauge of the currency's performance
against six major currencies, rose 0.4 percent to 85.850
<.DXY>, but was off an earlier high of 85.940.
                                
 Among the big decliners, the New Zealand dollar <NZD=> fell
more than 2 percent and its debt rallied strongly following a
central bank warning on high market rates and its reiteration
that it will keep benchmark interest rates low for some time.
                                
 The central bank's verbal intervention followed a sharp
tightening of monetary conditions in recent weeks, reflected by
rising bond yields, swap rates and a rising kiwi dollar.
                                
 The NZ dollar <NZD=D2> fell to a low of $0.5558, from
$0.5700 before the central bank statement.
                                
 In commodity markets, U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1>
slid $1.04 to $48.62 on a report from the American Petroleum
Institute showing U.S. crude stocks rose by a
greater-than-expected 3.3 million barrels in the week to March
27. [API/S]
                                
 Gold <XAU=> held steady at $917.70 an ounce from its New
York's notional close of $917.15 on Tuesday.