Nissan surges on share buyback

Nissan Motor shares raced ahead in Tokyo after the Japanese car maker said on Friday that it will buy back up to 300m shares, or 400bn yen of common stock.

The buyback, which is Nissan’s biggest ever and corresponds to about 6.7% of shares outstanding, was due to begin on Monday and last until the end of the year.

Nissan said there will be no material change in the balance of shareholding with Renault or impact on the governance of the Alliance.

President and chief executive Carlos Ghosn said: "Return to shareholders is one of Nissan’s key objectives. We took this decision considering our financial status and outlook to continuously generate significant free cash flow."

Nomura, which reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the stock, said the move to enhance shareholder returns indicates management confidence in the balance sheet and in prospects for free cash flow generation from here on.

“We expect investors to be reassured,” it said.