Stocks in Facebook have received a boost after the company announced plans to buy back up to $6bn of its own shares.

The company said the repurchase program will go into effect in the first quarter of 2017 and does not have a fixed expiration date.

The program is seen as a bid to return value to shareholders while other longer-term investments play out.

Facebook has around $26bn in cash reserves and marketable securities and is deploying some of that for buybacks - while still planning to increase its spending on growing the business.

The company has announced plans to invest in expanding the company’s infrastructure and hiring more engineers. 

The move makes Facebook the latest big US technology firm to announce buybacks in a bid to appease shareholders.

Last year, Google announced a $5bn buyback and earlier this year, Apple repurchased $10.9bn worth of shares.

According to Bloomberg data, US technology companies have more than doubled their repurchases of shares since 2012 – spending $131bn last year.

Separately, Facebook has announced its chief accounting officer, Jas Athwal, will resign in February of next year.

Mr Athwal has been with the company for nine years and will assist in the search for his replacement.