London - European equity indexes fell for a third straight day on Thursday, weighed down by a selloff in technology stocks after disappointing numbers from Nokia and by a strengthening euro.
Shares in the Finnish firm fell 8.6 percent after it posted quarterly profits well below forecasts at its main telecom network equipment business, citing lower software sales, higher costs and challenging conditions in Europe and Latin America.
“It came as a surprise to many because Nokia's business mix was supposed to be a bit better than this,” Evli Bank analyst Mikko Ervasti said.
“It looks like has Nokia had to make quite a lot of very basic network implementation, which is quite a costly business that yields better results later when those networks get their upgrades.”
Sector peer Alcatel Lucent dropped 8 percent while Ericsson was down 1.2 percent and the broader STOXX Europe 600 tech index fell 1.9 percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of European shares traded 0.7 percent lower at 1,569.18 points by 0756 GMT, partly supported by strong results at insulin maker Novo Nordisk and chemical firm BASF.
The index has fallen 3.8 percent over the previous two sessions, depressed by disappointing U.S. consumer confidence and output data, which curbed growth expectations for Europe's largest trading partner and boosted the euro against the dollar.
A widespread bout of profit taking on European shares, which are still up 14.7 percent this year, even took a toll on companies that reported better-than-expected results.
French bank BNP Paribas, Novo Nordisk, Norwegian oil firm Statoil and chemical firm BASF were between flat and down 2.6 percent despite beating consensus expectations with their quarterly reports.
With just over a third of European earnings releases out by Wednesday, 61 percent of companies had met or beaten expectations, StarMine data showed.
Investors were awaiting euro zone inflation data for April at 0900 GMT for confirmation that Europe's own nascent economic recovery remained on track.
Reuters