Nokia and Ericsson told the outlook is negative

Market downturn sees Moody's step in to give mobile firms the bad news...

Moody's has cut Nokia's ratings outlook to 'negative' from 'stable' because of the slowdown in the market. The decision followed hard on the heels of mobile phone rival Ericsson suffering the same downgrade by Moody's on Wednesday. In a statement Moody's investors service said the cuts are due to a slowdown in the mobile phone market and a reduction of carrier subsidies, which means price competition will increase, potentially extending the period for mobile networks. In early trading in Helsinki Nokia's share price had fallen slightly from E25 (£15.50) to E24.25 (£15.05) and in Stockholm Ericsson's share price had dropped from Skr38.40 (£2.48) to Skr37.70 (£2.44).