Telecom Sector Shrugs Off Verizon Inc. Deal For AOL Inc.

Major telecommunications companies' shares shrugged off news of Verizon Inc. VZ $4.4 billion deal to buy AOL Inc. AOL. Yahoo! Inc. YHOO, which had been thought a possible AOL buyer, gained $0.30 cents to $43.90 recently on about 70 percent of its average trading volume. AT&T Inc. T traded recently at $33.79, up $0.30 on lighter-than-average volume. Antitrust regulators are unlikely to block its $49 billion deal to acquire DirectTV DTV, according to a report Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/us-authorities-near-end-of-at-t-directv-review-unlikely-to-block-deal-1431448987 Comcast Corp. CMCSA dipped $0.42 cents to $57.33 on very light volume. The company, whose $45 billion plan to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC got recently derailed by antitrust concerns, on Monday named Michael J. Cavanagh as chief financial officer. Time Warner Cable gained $0.18 cents to $154.94 also on very light volume. Sprint Corp. S lost $0.03 cents, trading at $4.66 on half its average trading volume. T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS picked up $0.42 cents, changing hands at $34.39 on volume of 2.8 million shares. Average daily volume is 3.5 million shares. A widening gap in business strategy between AT&T and Verizon is illustrated by the AOL deal, an analyst said Tuesday. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/verizons-purchase-of-aol-in-stark-contrast-to-atts-merger-with-directv--wells-fargo-2015-05-12 Advertising is playing an increasing role for Verizon, while AT&T's plan to acquire DirectTV emphasizes ownership of infrastructure, Wells Fargo's Jennifer Fritzsche said, according to MarketWatch.