Telecoms Up On Defensive Bias -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies ticked up as traders hedged their bets on the outlook for interest rates.

Analysts at brokerage Gabelli & Co. said a selloff in shares of Internet provider CenturyLink is overdone, given that it will become the third largest fiber-optic network operator in the U.S. once it completes its acquisition of Level 3 Communications, as reported earlier. The company will have about 460,000 miles of fiber worldwide in the wake of that deal, according to the brokerage.

"We believe the value of this asset is being overlooked, particularly as it should become even more valuable" when cell-phone carriers begin rolling out "fifth-generation" data networks.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 24, 2017 16:44 ET (20:44 GMT)