Finland's HEX index traded off session peaks by midsession on Thursday, with forestry shares hammered by grim results from majors Stora Enso and UPM-Kymmene. At 1234 GMT the HEX general index was up 0.5 percent at 5,350.35 points, while the narrower HEX 25 index slipped 0.7 percent to 1,228.05. Turnover was 374.8 million euros ($403.1 million), with gainers nipping decliners 44-43 and 24 issues flat. Forestry shares were sharply lower after both UPM (UPM1V.HE) and Stora Enso (STERV.HE) reported fourth-quarter earnings at the lower end of estimates in Reuters polls and forecast challenging markets for this year. The world's largest magazine paper maker UPM-Kymmene skidded 6.8 percent to 27.35 euros after it said October-December earnings fell due in part to production downtime and warned 2003 profitability would fall year on year. Stora Enso was 4.1 percent lower at 9.14 euros, hit first by the UPM numbers and later by its own as the world's largest paper and board maker said demand in Europe was challenging but the North American market should continue to improve. "In Europe demand for advertising-driven papers is stable at low levels, but prices are under pressure mainly due to oversupply," Stora Enso said in a statement. Fine paper maker M-real slid 5.3 percent to 7.40 euros. It is due to report fourth-quarter earnings on February 6. Analysts said the results were not only a grim harbinger for 2003, but 2004 was also looking gloomy. "I think earnings will be lower in 2004 than in 2003. It is a combination of too much capacity growth, demand probably picking up a little bit, but not enough, and the dollar being weak," said analyst Hakon Lerstad at ABG Sundal Collier. Shares in Nokia (NOK1V.HE), the world's top handset maker, rose 2.4 percent to 13.62 euros in what some brokers said was a technical bounce after a steady slide on the firm's disappointing result last week and worries about a war in Iraq. "I think that 14.25 euros is the upper level for the share at the moment, but in today's environment it won't hit that," one broker said. "The share's a buy at levels of 12.50-12.75 euros." Shares in packaging group Huhtamaki (HUH1V.HE) were off one percent at 8.61 euros after the company reported a sharper-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter earnings due to the weak economic conditions, especially in the United States. Metals group Outokumpu (OUT1V.HE) fell 5.1 percent to 8.45 euros as the firm said profitability weakened at end-2002 due to soft metals markets and deliveries, although it expected this year's result to improve. The market will be eyeing U.S. advanced fourth quarter gross domestic product data and the latest jobless claims at 1330 GMT to gauge the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy.