Shares of major U.S. telecommunications companies were trading higher on Tuesday, outpacing a rally in broader markets, as investors hunted for bargains among battered stocks, analysts said. The North American Telecommunications Index , which has fallen 12 percent this year, gained 42.84 points, or 4.74 percent, to 946.56 in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq Telecom Index jumped 22.92 points, or 7.7 percent, to 320.65. Those gains outpaced a 2.85 percent increase in the broader Standard and Poors 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is up more than 2 percent. The sector had and still does have pretty incredible value in it.
Some stocks are unbelievably cheap.
One trader attributed the jump in telecommunications stocks to enthusiasm spilling over from Europe, where Credit Suisse First Boston raised its weighting in European telecommunications stocks to neutral from underweight. Still, some caution hovered over the telecom sector. The slowing economy could curtail wireless telephone subscriber growth, and dampen revenues for services such as high-speed Internet access and second telephone lines, analysts said. In recent weeks several analysts have questioned whether SBC Communications can reach its goal for 2001 earnings per share growth, before one-time items, of 11 percent to 14 percent. Incorporated All Rights Reserved.