* Q2 oper profit Y166.96 bln vs consensus Y151 bln
* Lifts FY oper forecast to Y485 bln vs Y476.5 bln consensus
* Sales outperform in China, Europe, other markets
* Raises global vehicle sales forecast to record 4.1 mln
* Shares end up 3.9 pct before results vs sector's 2.1 pct (Recasts with CEO, analyst comment, details)
By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent
YOKOHAMA, Japan, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co bumped up its annual guidance past market forecasts on Thursday as brisk car sales absorb currency losses, putting the heat on rival Toyota Motor Corp as it prepares to report a big hit from a stronger yen.
Nissan, owned 43 percent by France's Renault SA, is on its way to outselling Honda Motor Co to become Japan's second-biggest automaker this year as its market share inches up in China, North America and Europe.
Fuelled by strong sales, Nissan raised its global sales forecast for the year to March 2011 to a record 4.1 million vehicles from 3.8 million, a jump of 17 percent from last year.
Further out, Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of both Nissan and Renault, is aiming to turn the alliance into the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles, taking a significant first step by delivering the first Nissan Leaf electric car to customers in Japan and the United States next month.
For July-September, the maker of the March/Micra subcompact reported an operating profit of 166.96 billion yen ($2.07 billion), for a margin of 7.4 percent and doubling from 83.28 billion yen a year ago. The result beat the average 151 billion yen estimated by three analysts.
Second-quarter net profit was 101.73 billion yen, quadrupling from 25.53 billion yen a year earlier.
"They are basically batting the same as Honda margin-wise, and Toyota is obviously the big laggard of this group," said Christopher Richter, an auto analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.
"From a financial perspective Nissan and Honda are the two stars of the sector." He added that Nissan was among the most aggressive in trying to offset the yen's strength, by importing more components from overseas and shipping the March/Micra subcompact from Thailand to Japan.
Nissan now expects operating profit for the full year to next March 31 of 485 billion yen ($6 billion) instead of its previous forecast of 350 billion yen. The new figure would represent a 56 percent rise from the previous year. A survey of 22 analysts gave a consensus forecast of 476.5 billion yen, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
It now sees annual net profit at 270 billion yen instead of 150 billion yen.
"Depending on what happens with the overall macroeconomy and assuming we don't see a global double dip, I think in terms of the models' cycle they've got some positive factors in their favour," said Andrew Phillips, an auto analyst at BNP Paribas Securities.
"That should help them to benefit from the continued recovery in global auto growth," he said.
Honda last week also posted strong second-quarter earnings but disappointed with a conservative full-year forecast that suggested its second-half profits would fall to a quarter of what it made in the first six months.
Toyota is also expected to raise its conservative guidance when it reports on Friday, but is struggling with sluggish sales and a bigger exposure to exchange rates.
Shares of Nissan have risen 4.7 percent in the past three months, outperforming Tokyo's transport sector subindex, which fell 3.8 percent in the same period.
Nissan's shares closed up 3.9 percent before the results were announced on Thursday, against a 2.1 percent rise in the transport sector. ($1=80.80 Yen) (Additional reporting by Tim Kelly and James Topham; Editing by Michael Watson)