Nokia, SAP Earnings, Investor Confidence

Earnings from Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, Roche Holding AG and SAP AG may move European stock markets next week. Data on investor confidence will also be watched.

``Generally the focus next week will be on financial data, overall we expect solid third-quarter results,'' said Davide Pinna, who oversees the equivalent of about $500 million at Zurich-based private bank Maerki Baumann & Co. ``Interest rates will have an influence as well, the volatility has decreased and we'll have to wait and see whether the Federal Reserve will lower rates further.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.1 percent this week to 387.22 at 1:10 p.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 retreated 0.2 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark for the 13 nations sharing the European currency, lost 0.3 percent.

Nokia is scheduled to release earnings on Oct. 18. The company is expected to ``continue to benefit from its scale, robust market growth and weakness at Motorola Inc.,'' Jeffrey Schlesinger, an analyst at UBS AG in London, wrote in a research report. He has a ``buy'' recommendation on the stock.

Roche will report third-quarter sales figures on Oct. 16. The world's biggest maker of cancer medicines may say revenue increased about 9 percent to 11.4 billion Swiss francs ($9.7 billion) on demand for its Avastin and Herceptin tumor-fighting drugs, according to the median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Novartis AG, Europe's third-largest drugmaker, will follow with third-quarter results on Oct. 18.

SAP, the world's largest maker of business-management software, may say third-quarter profit climbed 12 percent on Oct. 18, helped by increased sales of product licenses. Net income probably rose to 415 million euros ($585 million,) according to the median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Investor confidence in Germany fell to minus 23.8, from minus 18.1 in September, according to Bloomberg estimates. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim will publish the report on Oct. 16. Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) --