UPDATE 1-Honda, Nissan shares jump 8 pct on surprise profits

* Nomura lifts rating on Honda

* Honda shares up 8.1 pct, Nissan up 7.5 pct in flat market (Adds comments from analysts)

TOKYO, July 30 (Reuters) - Shares in Honda Motor Co (7267.T) and Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) soared 8 percent after the automakers surprised markets by eking out small profits last quarter, helped by cost cuts.

The results prompted Nomura Securities to raise its rating on Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, to a "1" from a "2", with the brokerage praising its restructuring efforts.

Automakers have seen global auto sales crumble in the past year due to mounting jobs losses and tight credit markets that helped drive U.S. rivals General Motors and Chrysler to bankruptcy.

Honda, also the world's top motorcycle maker, posted an 88 percent fall in operating profit to 25.2 billion yen ($267 million) in the April-June financial first quarter, beating a consensus estimate for a 106 billion yen loss in a survey of four analysts polled by Reuters. [ID:nT188181]

"Big surprise," Shingo Hayashi, auto analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research, wrote in a note.

"There had been concerns about whether Honda could secure operating profit for the year to March 2010, but such concerns have disappeared for the time being," he said.

Nissan, Japan's No. 3 automaker and held 44 percent by France's Renault SA (RENA.PA), made an operating profit of 11.6 billion yen ($122.9 million) in April-June, down 86 percent, but beating a consensus loss estimate of 117 billion yen.

Honda rose 8.1 percent to 2,995 yen, becoming the biggest contributor to the Nikkei, and Nissan gained 7.5 percent to 678 yen. Shares in other automakers also gained with Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) rising 3.4 percent to 3,930 yen.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 was flat. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)