ISTANBUL, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Shares in Turkey's state-owned Halkbank climbed a further 8% on Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the lender's bid to avoid criminal charges for allegedly helping Iran evade economic sanctions.

The shares had ended Monday's session nearly 10% higher after news first emerged of the court's decision about a case that has strained U.S. relations with NATO ally Turkey.

The justices took up Halkbank's appeal of a lower court's decision rejecting the bank's contention that it was immune from U.S. prosecution under a 1976 law called the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which limits the jurisdiction of American courts over lawsuits against foreign countries, because the business is majority-owned by Turkey's government. (Reporting by Berna Suleymanoglu; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Ece Toksabay)