European shares fall as growth worries linger, Nokia tumbles

European shares fell on Thursday, weighed down by energy stocks and Nokia shares while investors parsed through a mixed bag of earnings in the region amid lingering concerns for the eurozone economy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.4 percent by 0730 GMT after the benchmark index's eight-session rally stalled on Wednesday. Among the biggest drags was Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia which slid 10 percent after the company reported a surprise quarterly loss citing hard competition in its core networks business.

Nokia shares dragged the tech index lower after its 4 percent surge in the prior session. Switzerland's biggest bank UBS advanced after its first-quarter results surpassed analyst expectations. This follows a surprise profit from its smaller rival Credit Suisse on Wednesday.

Britain's Barclays slipped after reporting a 10 percent drop in the quarterly profit, as tough market conditions caused a drop in earnings at its under-pressure investment bank. Swedbank fell 3 percent after posting an estimate-beating first-quarter profit but the Swedish lender admitted to previous shortcomings in combating money laundering.

The banking index shed 0.6 percent broadly as Germany's benchmark 10-year government bond yield held below zero percent, a day after a disappointing German Ifo sentiment survey exacerbated growth concerns in the region. Sainsbury's slipped 6 percent after Britain's competition regulator blocked the retailer's proposed 7.3 billion pounds ($9.4 billion) takeover of Walmart owned Asda.

On the other end of the index, heavyweight Bayer rose after the drug and farming supplies company posted a 45 percent gain in quarterly core earnings on the back of seed maker Monsanto's acquisition. ASM soared 7 percent to the top of the pan-regional index after the semiconductor company beat first-quarter targets. Meanwhile, Germany's Dialog Semiconductor rose more than 1 percent after forecasting higher than anticipated profits in the first quarter.

German payments company Wirecard extended a rally from the previous session as it reiterated its profit forecast for 2019.