GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks fall in US, Europe on earnings

(Updates with Wall Street open, changes dateline; previous LONDON)

By Kevin Plumberg

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. and European stocks fell on Thursday, weighed by disappointing results from Merrill Lynch and Nokia, while oil rose to a record high above $115 a barrel.

The dollar recovered against the euro, bouncing off a record low hit overnight after a top euro zone official said financial markets misinterpreted a statement by the Group of Seven rich nations last weekend that expressed concern about fluctuations in major currencies.

Commodity prices rose, with copper, tin and U.S. rice futures setting record highs, deepening a sense of crisis about food prices.

However, many investors were focused on corporate earnings, particularly since 82 percent of U.S. companies that have reported their quarterly results have exceeded estimates, according to JPMorgan. At this time last quarter, 43 percent of companies had beat forecasts.

Wall Street firm Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) bucked this trend, posting a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss after taking several billion dollars of subprime mortgage write-downs .

Finland's Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, said it expects its market to fall this year and reported a surprising decline in the average selling price for its phones. The company's shares dropped 13.5 percent.

"It's earnings season so that's going to trump everything else as far as news flow unless the economic numbers are really bad," said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, in Toledo, Ohio.