Moody's cut its credit rating on Nokia, citing the Finnish mobile phone company's weakening market position and uncertainty over its transition to Microsoft's Windows Phone software.

Moody's said on Thursday that it was lowering its rating on Nokia's senior debt to A3 from a previous A2. The agency also cut the company's short-term debt ratings to Prime-2 from Prime-1, and said the outlook on the ratings was negative.

The rating downgrade primarily reflects Nokia's weakened market position in its core business, mobile devices, which has reduced the company's margins and funds from operations, Wolfgang Draak, Moody's senior vice president and lead analyst for Nokia, said in a note.

Nokia in February dumped its own software platform in favor of Microsoft Corp's, and analysts have said it may lose considerable market share during the transition.

Standard & Poor's also cut its rating on Nokia late last month.

(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

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