Pinterest, defensive telecoms lead the week's gainers in Communications stocks
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Communications Services stocks eked out a small gain for the week - a bit of a surprise, with the negative tenor of the market's sell-off this week. But the sector was buoyed by gains on Monday, Tuesday and (especially) Wednesday - after the market rallied as a whole following the Federal Reserve's policy decisions.
The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) gained 0.5% for the week; last week, it had fallen 3.7%, and this week's gain only takes a little edge off a year-to-date decline of 24%.
The sector's weekly gainers were mostly led by a bit of a beaten-down group in telecoms/broadband, which made up four of the top five.
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) was the top large-cap gainer for the week, up 10.6% in continued gains since its April 28 earnings were received positively by investors and analysts. But Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) was just behind with an 8.5% gain for the week, also primarily lifted by a positive earnings report and guidance boost.
Charter Communications (CHTR) was last week's worst performer, down 16.2%, so this week's 7.3% return (third best among the sector's large-caps) marked something of a relief rebound. It was followed by AT&T (T), up 6.2%, and Verizon (VZ), up 4.3% - part of the typically defensive telecom group. AT&T took the opportunity this week to raise some mobile prices for the first time in three years.
Turning to the biggest losers, earnings again played an outsize role - particularly at the end of the week. The week's worst large-cap decliner was Dish Network, down 22.1% almost entirely on Friday after its report showed financial misses and a sharp decline in subscribers.
It fared worse than the second-worst decliner, News Corp., whose own bad report sent the stock down 13.9% for the week and led media names lower on Friday.
Another notable earnings reporter among the losers: Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) got a postmarket Thursday boost after producing a strong report, but couldn't escape a weeklong downdraft that left the stock 11.8% lower for the period.
The top five gainers over the past five sessions among large-cap Communications Services stocks and larger ($10B market cap or more):
- Pinterest (PINS), +10.6%;
- Lumen Technologies (LUMN), +8.5%;
- Charter Communications (CHTR), +7.3%;
- AT&T (T), +6.2%;
- Verizon (VZ), +4.3%.
The top five decliners over the past five sessions among large-cap Communications Services stocks and larger ($10B market cap or more):