Telecoms Up As Cell-phone Upgrades Seen Positive -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies rose as traders bet the sector would benefit from deal activity and cell-phone upgrades.

AT&T walked away from a deal to sell smartphones made by Chinese electronics giant Huawei Technologies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Huawei and other Chinese phone manufacturers present stiff competition for Apple and Samsung in Asia but are still struggling to break through in the U.S. market, partly because they lack partnerships with major U.S. carriers.

The White House's demand that Macmillan cease publication of a controversial new book about President Donald Trump and his administration is "flagrantly unconstitutional" and runs afoul of the First Amendment, said John Sargent, chief executive of the publisher, in a letter to staffers previously reported by an industry newsletter. The book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," was written by Michael Wolff and published by a Macmillan-owned imprint.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 08, 2018 16:52 ET (21:52 GMT)