Telecom Stocks Lead Europe Markets Higher
LONDON (Reuters) - Telecoms stocks led European bourses higher in early Friday trading, but mining company Billiton dragged basic producers lower after bagging Canadian rival Rio Algom.
The Stoxx European telecom sector index jumped 1.8 percent, extending Thursday's gains after the indicator plumbed nine-month lows earlier in the week.
Dealers took a sanguine approach to the bounce-back.
``Up to now, the rebound in telecoms is purely technical as they lost a lot,'' said Udo Becker, a trader at Merck Finck in Munich.
The sector has tumbled on fears that companies were bidding too much for UMTS third generation mobile licenses and that earnings will be severely dented. The Italian auction is due to kick off soon with bidders already lined up.
``If you start getting high bids in Italy, then you will see weakness again in telecoms,'' Becker said.
Telecom companies dominated the blue chip gainers across the region, with Dutch KPN KPN.AS up 3.4 percent, Vodafone Group 2.4 percent ahead, and British Telecom up 2.3 percent. Deutsche Telekom gained 1.8 percent.
Full Story: siliconinvestor.com |
