Telecoms Fall After Warnings From Comcast, Disney -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies fell as warnings from Comcast and Walt Disney weighed on media companies.

Altice USA, Viacom and 21st Century Fox all fell by 4% or more after Walt Disney said its growth struggles at ESPN continued and Comcast warned it was likely to lose 150,000 video subscribers in the third quarter.

Analysts at brokerage Morgan Stanley recommended investors who are looking for defensive stocks steer clear of telecommunications in favor of utilities. While both sectors have similar levels of cash available to pay dividends, "utilities have less business risk and more earnings visibility than telecom services, where wireless wars rage on and continue to threaten margins," the analysts said in a note to clients.

Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 07, 2017 17:07 ET (21:07 GMT)