Nokia shares outperform on M&A hopes

(Reuters) - Shares in Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia Oyj <NOKIA.HE> outperformed a falling market on Thursday, following a Bloomberg report it was weighing options for potential asset sales and mergers.

"If exploring strategic options, only viable ones are a sale to an unrelated Tech company or asset sales," JPMorgan analysts' said in a research note.

Shares in Nokia were 0.4% lower while European technology shares index <.SX8P> was 2.3% lower.

Nokia competes with Huawei and Ericsson for orders for new 5G networks which are at the centre of a brewing technology war between United States and China, as they are expected to host critical functions from driverless vehicles to military communications.

Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said the United States and its allies should consider investing in Nokia and Ericsson to counter Huawei's dominance in 5G technology, fuelling speculation of M&A activities in sector.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki @virki; editing by David Evans)