GM's IPO and US data lead to stocks' strength

* GM IPO leads the charge for global stocks
* Government bond prices fall, Irish debt tensions ease
* Commodity prices rebound (Updates with U.S. markets, GM's public trading debut)

By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A blockbuster General Motors Co stock offering dovetailed with upbeat U.S. economic data and easing Irish debt tensions to lift global stocks on Thursday, while the dollar gained on the yen and cut losses versus the euro.

GM's return to the market less than 18 months after it emerged from government-funded bankruptcy raised $20.1 billion, the largest initial public offering in U.S. history, and provided a positive backdrop for investor sentiment.

"The company has rid itself of a lot of liability costs, so there is good reason for this excitement and demand," said Paul Larson, equities strategist at Morningstar in Chicago. "And with all the pent-up demand for vehicles, the outlook for the whole industry is very bright."

Commodity prices rose while U.S. government debt prices fell as credit tensions eased.

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region grew much more than expected, according to a survey from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank. An improvement in the latest weekly initial claims for jobless benefits also helped strengthen the U.S. dollar.

The U.S. data helped erode the euro's gains as uncertainty about the Irish crisis ebbed after Dublin agreed to work with a European Union-International Monetary Fund mission on steps to shore up its shattered banking sector.

But analysts remained skeptical that any rebound in risk appetite would be sustained, with fiscal problems still severe in Ireland and other peripheral euro-zone countries such as Portugal, and many investors inclined to cut risk exposure before year-end.

"It's absolutely vital for the authorities to take pro-active steps in order to try to resolve this crisis as soon as possible. The market should see some relief in relation to that," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth.

In late morning trade, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 177.83 points, or 1.56 percent, to 11,179.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 19.55 points, or 1.66 percent, to 1,198.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 46.94 points, or 1.89 percent, to 2,522.95.

GM's common stock, priced at $33 in the initial public offering on Wednesday night, was up 6.8 percent at $35.25 around noon on the New York Stock Exchange.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares climbed 1.34 percent to close provisionally at 1,107.07 points after being as low as 1,091.06.

The MSCI world equity index was up 1.71 percent after touching a one-month low the previous day.

The gains came after Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.1percent to close above 10,000 for the first time since late June, while China shares also rose. Emerging stocks were up 1.6 percent.

EURO'S GAINS PARED
The enthusiasm for stocks led to some paring back of the euro's gains after Ireland's central bank chief said he expected Dublin to receive tens of billions of euros in loans from European partners and the IMF.

The euro was up 0.73 percent at $1.3618, but that represented a pullback from its earlier gain of 1.1 percent to a session high of about $1.3668 on trading platform EBS.

The dollar was down 0.48 percent against a basket of currencies.

The dollar rose 0.47 percent to 83.63 yen .

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 17/32 of a point in price, pushing the yield up to 2.95 percent.

The 10-year Irish/German government bond yield spread was last at 567 basis points, around 15 basis points tighter for the day but off the session's tightest levels.

U.S. crude oil futures rose $1.78 to $82.22 per barrel and retraced part of a four-session drop, while spot gold gained $19.40 to $1,356.20 an ounce. (Reporting and writing by Daniel Bases; Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer, Wanfeng Zhou, Ryan Vlastelica, Atul Prakash and Neal Armstrong; Editing by Jan Paschal)