* Market lifted by weaker yen, upbeat Intel results
* Mazda shoots up on hybrid parts tie-up report with Toyota
* Worries about U.S. CIT's fate weigh on U.S. futures, Nikkei
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, July 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average climbed 1.2 percent on Thursday, boosted by shares of high-tech exporters on a weaker yen and after results from Intel Corp lifted hopes for a rebound in technology spending.
Mazda Motor Corp surged around 7 percent after the Nikkei business daily said Toyota Motor Corp plans to supply Mazda with core components for hybrid vehicles.
The Nikkei's rise, however, stalled as caution persisted ahead of upcoming 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 110.46 points to 9,379.71 after peaking at 9,489.67. The broader Topix advanced 1.1 percent to 876.16.
Market players said a fall in U.S. stock futures, partly on deepening troubles for 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 news that embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso is set to call a general election for Aug. 30, despite grim prospects for his long-ruling conservative party.
EXPORTERS HIGHER
Among tech exporters, Canon Inc advanced 2 percent to 3,090 yen and Advantest added 4.1 percent to 1,813 yen. Electronics components maker TDK Corp jumped 4.4 percent to 4,300 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 jumped 3.8 percent to 1,434 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery climbed 3.5 percent to 1,504 yen and Kubota gained 3.3 percent to 759 yen.
Shares of Mazda climbed 7.1 percent to 242 yen, while Toyota rose 1.4 percent to 3,520 yen.
Sumitomo Electric Industries gained 5.4 percent to 1,040 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.
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. (Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)