HEXUS.sharewatch: Nokia and Qualcomm dive after earnings reports

We're right in the middle of the Q1 earnings season and so far it's been a pretty mixed bag. The big winner appears to have been Apple, which far exceeded expectations and is now closing in on Microsoft in terms of its overall value, as its shares jumped to unprecedented levels.

One company to apparently benefit from Apple's continued success - at least in terms of its share price - is ARM. This is in part because devices like the iPhone - which contain ARM licenses - have been selling like hot cakes and in part because of a rumour that Apple might buy the low-power chip designer.

The company to have been most adversely affected by the iPhone's success appears to be Nokia, which reported earings below expectations and gave investors little grounds for optimism in its forecast. Another company to be punished by a pessimistic outlook - for the second quarter running - was Qualcomm.