Renault shares rally on new media report of Nissan merger talks

Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images

Employees working on a car assembly line of France’s Renault and China’s Dongfeng factory in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on on February 1, 2016.

Renault shares rose sharply on Thursday, with traders attributing the gain to a Bloomberg News report that Renault SA and Nissan are in talks to merge and create a new automaker that trades as a single stock.

Asked about the report, a spokesman for Renault-Nissas said: “We do not comment on rumours and speculation.”

Renault shares were up 5.4 percent in early session trading.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported from sources familiar with the proposals that Renault and Nissan were discussing plans for a closer tie-up in which the Japanese carmaker would acquire the bulk of the French state’s 15 percent Renault holding.