Greece, Nokia push European shares to 3-week low

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index closes down 1.1 percent
                                
 * Banks fall on Greece woes; Credit Suisse slips on Q1
                                
 * Nokia tumbles after Q1 results disappoint
                                
 * For up-to-the minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - European shares hit a 3-week
closing low on Thursday, with banks slipping as Greek's debt
concerns resurfaced and Nokia <NOK1V.HE> dropping after it cut
its profit outlook.
                                
 Investment sentiment was dented after Eurostat said the
Greek government posted a budget deficit worse than had been
feared, while a Moody's Investors Service downgrade of Greece's
sovereign rating added to investor worries.
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed down 1.1 percent at 1,083.88 points, after earlier
having been up as much as 1,102.69 points.
                                
 Banks extended their slide from the previous session. Greek
banks <.FTATBNK> slipped 5.4 percent, while Banco Santander
<SAN.MC>, BBVA <BBVA.MC>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>
and Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> fell 0.7 to 3.1 percent.
                                
 "Today it is a Greek story. The market seems to be pricing
in some default or restructuring," said Mike Lenhoff, chief
strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
                                
 "The Moody's downgrade is another part of the saga. Each
time we have some sort of announcement and get closer to a
resolution, there seems to be another stage to overcome."
                                
 Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> lost 4.7 percent after first-quarter
results failed to match the blowout numbers from major U.S.
banks disappointing investors.
                                
 Nokia sunk more than 14 percent to its lowest close in 8
weeks after it cut its profit outlook and delayed the launch of
phones it needs to compete with the iPhone and Blackberry.
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 Reuters poll on risk of Greek default [ID:nLDE63J232]
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 ENERGY STOCKS SLIP
                                
 Energy stocks extended their falls from Wednesday. Crude
<CLc1> lost 1.3 percent after higher U.S. inventories signalled
demand in the world's top oil consumer was lagging the recovery
in the global economy.
                                
 BP <BP.L>, BG Group <BG.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and
Total <TOTF.PA> slipped 0.6 to 1.8 percent.
                                
 Looking at individual stocks, Swiss engineering group ABB
<ABBN.VX> slumped 8 percent after it gave a cautious outlook
along with a worse-than-expected 29 percent drop in quarterly
net profit. [ID:nLDE63I1AB]
                                
 On the upside, British manufacturer IMI <IMI.L> soared 5.7
percent after it said its outlook for the first half had
improved materially, driven by better demand for commercial
vehicles and margin improvements from cost cuts. [ID:nLDE63L11V]
                                
 Nestle <NESN.VX> gained 1.5 percent after it beat forecasts
with a 6.5 percent rise in underlying first-quarter sales and
was upbeat about its 2010 prospects as the economic recovery
starts to kick in. [ID:nLDE63K1N8]
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index fell 1 percent,
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> slipped 1 percent and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> was down 1.3 percent.
 (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; editing by Karen Foster)