* Kiwi takes GDP data in stride, watches bigger picture * NZ dollar hitches a ride with Aussie after RBA comments * Attention on European Union summit on Greece WELLINGTON, March 25(Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar bounced back from nine-day lows on Thursday as it got a lift from the Australian dollar's rise and solid economic growth figures. The kiwi fell overnight along with the euro and high-yield currencies after Fitch Ratings downgraded Portugal's sovereign rating by one notch. [ID:nWLB0700] But it recovered in domestic trade and comfortably absorbed news that New Zealand grew 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest clip in two years, which was not seen changing the central bank's rate thinking "The outcome was as expected, hence the market reaction was muted. The NZ dollar is choppy around 70.2 US cents, while swap markets are a little firmer on the not strong enough outcome," said TD Securities senior strategist Annette Beacher. The kiwi traded around $0.7031/37 at 0400 GMT compared with $0.7038/42 late in local trade on Wednesday. It traded in a tight range of $0.7018-0.7039, having touched an overnight low of $0.6993. The no-surprises New Zealand gross domestic product numbers were seen as history, and with first quarter data suggesting some caution in the outlook, the Reserve Bank is still seen raising rates around the middle of the year. See [ID:nSGE62O013] "It should reinforce the RBNZ's conclusion that it will be appropriate to begin raising the cash rate around the middle of this year, which we take to imply a tightening at the June meeting," said Deutsche Bank chief economist Darren Gibbs. The kiwi also hitched a lift with a firmer Australian dollar after a top Reserve Bank of Australia official said higher interest rates there were likely. [ID:nSYU009585] Australia's healthy position was underscored by an RBA financial stability report that the country's households and businesses were able to cope with higher rates. [ID:nSYC002321] Kiwi's near term outlook is seen being driven by broader market events, notably the euro zone's fiscal woes. Portugal's downgrade fuelled concerns about the position of other EU members. See [ID:nLDE62N14Y] The euro was hovering at a 10-month low against the U.S. dollar ahead of the summit, while U.S. dollar fell against the yen on sales by Japanese exporters. [USD/] New Zealand's trade balance for February will be released on Friday with expectations for a surplus of NZ$480 million. [NZ/POLL] New Zealand government debt was sold off in line with U.S. Treasuries which was hit by concerns of the ever-growing supply of government debt. NZ yields were up to 10 basis points higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond at 6.0 percent from 5.92 percent. An auction of NZ$250 million of NZ government bonds was more than three-times bid. (Reporting by Gyles Beckford; editing by Balazs Koranyi)

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