Asian shares gain on rising optimism on banks, China

By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stock markets rose to their highest level in more than four months on Thursday, helped by optimism in the global banking sector and hopes of stabilization in the Chinese economy after solid trade data. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4 percent while Japan's Nikkei gained 2.0 percent. In Asia, China's exports in March returned to growth for the first time in nine months, adding to further signs of stabilization in the worl