MILAN/FRANKFURT: European shares fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, as losses in healthcare and construction stocks countered a lift from encouraging earnings from consumer giant Nestle and telecoms equipment maker Ericsson.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.3% to close at its lowest in more than two weeks.

Losses were broad-based with only the basic material sector in the green, supported by rising copper prices.

Nestle lifted its 2020 sales forecast following a quarterly beat, but shares inched lower after early gains.

Sweden’s Ericsson jumped 9.6% as higher margins and China’s 5G rollout helped the company beat quarterly core earnings estimates.

The STOXX 600 has struggled to break out of a trading range since June, when it recouped a large part of the early pandemic-driven losses. The benchmark is still about 16% below its all-time high.

Vivendi rose 1.6% after the French media group reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly sales and unveiled plans to list its most-prized asset, Universal Music Group, in 2022.

Third-quarter profits for companies on the STOXX 600 are expected to drop 34.8%, according to Refinitiv data, a slight improvement from the 36.7% predicted at the start of the earnings season. Of the 29 companies that reported so far, 75.9% have topped earnings expectations.

Gold miner Centamin Plc slumped 19% to the bottom of STOXX 600 after cutting its 2020 production forecast.

Construction companies also took a knocking, with Assa Abloy, the world’s biggest lockmaker, falling 4.1% after it reported a drop in quarterly sales.