Nikkei gains 0.6 pct, autos advance after GM

* Nikkei lifted by US demand recovery hopes

* Most autos advance after GM, but Suzuki dips

* Energy, resource shares gain on higher oil

By Shinichi Saoshiro

TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average gained 0.6 percent on Tuesday as U.S. manufacturing data the previous day reinforced hopes that demand will stabilise, while automakers such as Toyota Motor Co (7203.T) climbed after General Motor's GM.N bankruptcy filing removed some uncertainty from the market.

Nomura Real Estate (3231.T) slid 3.1 percent to 1,613 yen after the company said it plans to raise 64 billion yen by offering new shares.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 rose 58.46 points to 9,736.21, after hitting 9,774.55, its highest since Oct. 8. The broader Topix gained 0.8 percent to 919.78.

"The market is being lifted with the bankruptcy filing of General Motors seen to have removed a hurdle that blocked previous advances," said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.

General Motors filed for bankruptcy on Monday as the Obama administration took the first steps to try to revive a failed icon of American industry by extending unprecedented federal funding and oversight. [ID:nN01398575]

"Energy and resource-related shares are also being sought, at least for the short-term, on the continuing rise of oil and commodity prices," Murai said.

Steelmakers Nippon Steel (5401.T) rose 2.7 percent to 383 yen and Sumitomo Metal Industries (5405.T) climbed 3 percent to 276 yen. The iron and steel subindex .ISTEL.T rose 2.7 percent and was one of the biggest gainers among the subindexes.

Oil and gas developer Inpex (1605.T) rose 1.7 percent to 789,000 yen following crude oil's CLc1 increase to a seven-month high on Monday. [O/R]

Toyota rose 1.8 percent to 3,890 yen and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) gained 2.9 percent to 2,840 yen. Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) rose 2.4 percent to 598 yen.

Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T), which said on Tuesday it had exposure of around 72 billion yen ($745 million) to GM affiliates but no direct exposure to the failed U.S. carmaker, dipped 0.5 percent to 2,100 yen. [ID:nTFD006254]

Konica Minolta (4902.T) shed 2.8 percent to 1,059 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported that the firm aims to shave fixed costs by 33 billion yen for the fiscal year through March 2010 by spending less in areas such as personnel and research and development. [ID:nBNG466987]

The S&P 500 .SPX rose to its highest close in seven months on Monday as reassuring U.S. manufacturing data reinforced hopes that demand will stabilise. [.N]

Data released on Monday showed that the U.S. manufacturing sector showed improvement in May, contracting at a slower rate for the fifth straight month. [ID:nN01259240]

(Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Joseph Radford)