Nokia shares up after Symbian sales commitment

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia Oyj reinforced its commitment to its legacy Symbian platform on Wednesday, easing concerns it could face an awkward gap until the launch of new products under its planned Microsoft venture.
The comments on Symbian from a Nokia executive on Wednesday helped lift the Finnish mobile phone maker's shares above recent lows to trade up 2.3 percent at 6.20 euros by 1255 GMT. The STOXX Europe 600 technology index was up 0.4 percent.
The comments also offset an admission from Nokia's telecom gear venture with Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), that its $1.2 billion acquisition of Motorola's network unit would be delayed further due to an extended review by Chinese authorities.
Symbian is due to be replaced by Microsoft's Windows Phone over the coming two years under a plan announced in February, raising concerns over what Nokia would do with its existing product lines in the meantime.
"We will of course utilize the long tail of Symbian as long as it gives us a profitable margin," Nokia Chief Financial Officer Timo Ihamuotila told a technology conference organized by Switzerland's UBS. He noted a final contract with Microsoft was yet to be signed.