Handphone Nokia

Hp Nokia - Stocks head lower with earnings results falling short and worries increasing over Greece’s debt. Earnings reports have been the focus this week and despite strong results, we are seeing some selling on the news because of lofty expectations. Traders also got data on producer prices and jobless claims this morning.

Nokia - Jobless claims fell 24,000 to a level of 456,000 for the week ending April 17. The prior week’s figure was revised down by 4,000 claims to 480,000. The four-week moving average was up slightly to 460,250. Economists feel that in order for payrolls to rise consistently, claims have to move below 400,000. Continuing claims are on the decline, falling by 40,000 to 4.646 million.

The tech sector is under pressure Thursday following earnings reports from Nokia (NOK) and Qualcomm (QCOM). Qualcomm beat earnings estimates by 2-cents a share and reaffirmed guidance for the third quarter and full year. However, this wasn’t good enough for traders with QCOM shares down nearly 7 percent in early trading at a price below $40. However, the stock is still up sharply from the February lows when the stock trading below $36.

Nokia shares are taking a large hit this morning following a very disappointing report. The mobile phone maker is suffering from the move to high end phones and Nokia has not released one. Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone has been around three years and most phone makers have countered with similar phones. However, NOK has not come out with a high end phone since 2006 and this led to disappointing earnings results. NOK shares are down 15 percent in the morning session at a price of $12.75.

The telecom sector is also in focus today following a large merger announcement. CenturyLink (CTL) has come to an agreement with Qwest (Q) to merge in an all stock deal worth $11 billion. Qwest shareholders will get 0.1664 CenturyTel shares for each Q share owned. This has pushed Q shares higher by nearly 5 percent, but the stock, at $5.45, remains below the value of the purchase. CTL shares are down nearly 2 percent to $35.50.

Problems in Greece resurfaced Thursday after the Eurostat statistics agency in Germany questioned Greece’s budget data. Eurostat feels that the deficit in Greece could be revised higher by as much as half a percent. This news provided strength in the dollar and this has resulted in a decline in crude prices. Oil is off more than a dollar in early trading to $82.50 a barrel.