Nokia earnings miss weighs on European shares

London - European equity indexes were mostly flat to lower early on Thursday, weighed down by a selloff in tech stocks after disappointing numbers from Nokia .

Shares in the Finnish firm fell 7.6% after it posted quarterly profits clearly below market forecasts at its main telecom network equipment business, citing lower software sales, higher costs and challenging conditions in Europe and Latin America.

Peer Alcatel Lucent shed 6%, with the broader STOXX Europe 600 tech index down 1.3%.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of European shares traded 0.1% lower at 1 581.07 points at 09:05, partly supported by strong results at insulin maker Novo Nordisk and chemical firm BASF.

The index had fallen 3.8% over the previous two sessions, hit by disappointing US consumer confidence and output data, which curbed growth expectations for Europe's largest trading partner and boosted the euro against the dollar.