NEW YORK—Shares of telecommunications companies headed higher Tuesday, led by Sprint Nextel Corp., as the broader market advanced in hopes of another rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Sprint's shares added to Monday's gains amid reports that the nation's third-largest wireless carrier has restarted talks with Clearwire Corp. to combine their high-speed wireless WiMax networks.
The companies are discussing a joint venture that would attract funding from Intel Corp., and have also approached Google Inc. and Best Buy Inc. about financing, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Clearwire's shares soared.
Shares of AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. also advanced. Goldman Sachs analyst Jason Armstrong said the two garnered 85 percent and 98 percent of total and postpaid net subscriber additions during the fourth quarter, respectively.
"This means that despite the broader market slowdown, each of these companies has realized outsized growth," the analyst wrote. "We likely expect this to continue."
Here is how some key telecom stocks performed Tuesday:
AT&T rose $1.49, or 4.1 percent, $37.89.
Sprint Nextel advanced 83 cents, or 8.3 percent, $10.80.
Verizon Communications gained 60 cents to $38.71.
Clearwire added $2.89, or 23.2 percent, $15.34.
MetroPCS Communications Inc. rose 2 cents to $16.56.
Leap Wireless International Inc. fell 95 cents, or 2.4 percent, $38.85.
