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* Fresenius tops DAX on Tyenne launch in the US

* Topdanmark rises as Q1 beats expectations, ups guidance

* Naturgy up after report on takeover talks by Abu Dhabi's TAQA

* STOXX 600 down 1.4%

April 16 (Reuters) - Europe's main stock index fell to a near six-week low on Tuesday as investors stayed clear of risky assets amid tensions in the Middle East, while Ericsson jumped following upbeat earnings.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.4% as of 0846 GMT, dragged by a 3% drop in the basic resources sector. The main index was on track for its worst day in almost nine months.

The main indexes of Germany, France, Italy and Spain shed between 1.4% and 1.8%, tracking a global risk off mood as the world awaited Israel's response to Iran's first-ever direct attack against the country.

"All of (the other factors) have now been put on second level, and focus now is on escalation of risk coming from this conflict in the Middle East," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

"We've also got earnings season expected to show a little bit more weakness than they have in the past."

The STOXX 600 rallied since late 2023 to hit a record high in February on the back of lower interest rate expectations, with investors confident of a rate cut by the European Central Bank in June.

Still, ECB policymaker Olli Rehn said that prospects for an interest rate cut in June assume that there will be no further setbacks in the geopolitical situation that affect energy prices and thus inflation.

Focus is now on quarterly results, with earnings expected to decline 11.2% in the first quarter from the previous year, according to LSEG data.

Ericsson shares jumped 6.1% to top the benchmark index after the telecom equipment maker's first-quarter adjusted profit unexpectedly beat market expectations.

Naturgy jumped 5.7% after a report said Abu Dhabi's TAQA was in talks with the Spanish holding vehicle Criteria on a potential takeover of the Spanish energy company.

Topdanmark rose 4.8% after the Danish insurer reported first-quarter profits above expectations, and raised its profit guidance by about 8%.

Fresenius rose 3.4%, topping Germany's DAX after the healthcare group launched its intravenous formulation of Tocilizumab for use in the treatment of chronic autoimmune diseases in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Voestalpine dropped 6.1% after JPMorgan downgraded the materials firm to "underweight" from "neutral".

Anglo American and Rio Tinto dropped 3.5% and 2.4%, respectively, tracking weaker non-ferrous metals prices as a stronger dollar made base metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. (Reporting by Ozan Ergenay and Johann M Cherian; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Varun H K)