* Market lifted by weaker yen, upbeat Intel results
* Mazda jumps on hybrid parts tie-up report with Toyota
* Worries about fate of U.S. CIT weigh
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, July 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average climbed 0.8 percent on Thursday as high-tech exporters gained on a weaker yen and after results from Intel Corp fueled hopes for a rebound in technology spending.
Mazda Motor Corp climbed more than 6 percent after the Nikkei business daily said Toyota Motor Corp plans to supply Mazda with core components for hybrid vehicles.
But the Nikkei's rise stalled as caution persisted ahead of U.S. corporate earnings and political uncertainty at home.
"There seems to be no shortage of immediate supportive factors for the market, with the yen weakening further and China's GDP coming in strong," said Tomomi Yamashita, a senior fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management.
"But investors are not getting carried away as there are still earnings coming up from U.S. banks such as JPMorgan and Bank of America. The political situation in Japan is also an underlying cause of concern."
The benchmark Nikkei gained 74.91 points to 9,344.16 after peaking at 9,489.67. The broader Topix advanced 0.7 percent to 872.25.
Market players said a fall in U.S. stock futures, partly on concerns over the possible bankruptcy of U.S. firm CIT, a major lender to small and mid-sized businesses, put a lid on sharper gains for the Nikkei.
"Investors took media reports about CIT negatively and that weighed on U.S. futures, although its potential failure has been somewhat factored in," said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief equity marketing officer at Tokai Tokyo Securities.
The Nikkei hit an eight-week low of 9,050.33 on Monday on political uncertainty after embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso said he aimed to call an election for Aug. 30, despite grim prospects for his long-ruling conservative party.
EXPORTERS HIGHER, NIPPO SLIDES
Among tech exporters, Canon Inc advanced 1.7 percent to 3,080 yen and Advantest added 3.7 percent to 1,805 yen. Electronics components maker TDK Corp jumped 4.4 percent to 4,310 yen.
Shares of companies that benefit from demand from China, such as construction machinery makers including Komatsu, gained after data showing China's annual gross domestic product growth accelerated in the second quarter to 7.9 percent.
The figure was up from 6.1 percent in the first quarter, and made China the best-performing major economy in the world. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 7.5 percent.
Komatsu gained 2.8 percent to 1,419 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery climbed 2.8 percent to 1,494 yen and Kubota gained 1.5 percent to 746 yen.
Mazda climbed 6.2 percent to 240 yen, while Toyota rose 0.9 percent to 3,500 yen.
Sumitomo Electric Industries gained 4.9 percent to 1,035 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported the producer of electric wires and cables has developed the world's first semiconductor laser that generates green light on its own without having to convert light to green from another colour.
Shares of JGC Corp, a plant engineering firm, jumped 5.4 percent to 1,427 yen after state-owned Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (Gasco) said on Wednesday it has awarded JGC and another company contracts worth a total of about $9 billion for major gas projects in the Gulf emirate.
But road paver Nippo Corp tumbled 5.9 percent to 744 yen on worries over public spending, such as highway projects, being curbed if the opposition Democratic Party wrests control from the Liberal Democratic Party at the Aug. 30 general election.
The dollar was down 0.3 percent at 93.90 yen after pulling back from a five-month low of 91.73 on Monday.
JPMorgan Chase & Co will release earnings later on Thursday, followed by Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc on Friday.
Trade picked up on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 2.3 billion shares changing hands, compared with last week's daily average of 2 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones 965 to 587. (Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi)