UPDATE 2-European stocks fall as healthcare, construction sectors drag

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* STOXX 600 down 1.3%, at lowest in more than two weeks
* Ericsson, Vivendi boost STOXX 600
* Centamin slides after production update

(Updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
Oct 21 (Reuters) - 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 .STOXX fell 1.3% to close at
its lowest in more than two weeks. .N
Losses were broad-based with only the basic material sector
.SXPP in the green, supported by rising copper prices. MET/L
Nestle NESN.S lifted its 2020 sales forecast following a
quarterly beat, but shares inched lower after early gains.
Sweden's Ericsson ERICb.ST jumped 9.6% as higher margins
and China's 5G rollout helped the company beat quarterly core
earnings estimates. "Earnings have been generally well above expectations, and
guidance has been a positive surprise," said Patrick Moonen,
principal strategist in the multi-asset team at NN Investment
Partners.
"But there are other elements that are currently at play and
may have a bigger impact on the market performance than
earnings," he said, pointing to many European countries
reimposing mobility restrictions following a surge in COVID-19
cases that could weigh on fourth-quarter economic activity.
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.
Capital Economics expects the new containment measures to
cause the euro-zone economy to stagnate over the next six
months, resulting in only a slight increase in GDP on a
quarter-on-quarter basis in the fourth quarter and zero growth
in the first quarter of next year.
London's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE underperformed,
marking its worst session in a month, hit by a surge in pound
after bullish Brexit comments. .L
Vivendi VIV.PA 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 CEY.L slumped 19% to the bottom of
STOXX 600 after cutting its 2020 production forecast.
Construction companies also took a knocking, with Assa Abloy
ASSAb.ST , the world's biggest lockmaker, falling 4.1% after it
reported a drop in quarterly sales.