Telecommunications equipment stocks are being dragged into negative territory Friday morning. The sector-wide weakness comes after Nokia Corp. (NOK) cut its third quarter mobile device market share outlook.
Nokia stock was among the leading losers in the sector, falling nearly 10%. Shares of Motorola, Inc. (MOT) and Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) were each down about 3%.
By 10:25 am Eastern Time, shares of Nokia were down $2.33 to $19.98 a share, while Motorola stock was down 18 cents at $8.96 and Research In Motion shares were down $3.16 at $104.33.
Other stocks within the sector posting notable losses include LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC), Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN).
Before the opening bell on Friday, Nokia updated its mobile device market share outlook for the third quarter of 2008. The company said that it now expects its mobile device market share in the third quarter to be lower than in the second quarter. Previously, Nokia expected its third quarter mobile device market share to be at about the same level.
The company stated that it would continue to target an increase in its market share in mobile devices for the full year 2008. Nokia expects the overall mobile device market in 2008 to be impacted by the weaker consumer confidence in multiple markets.
On Monday, Motorola announced a collaboration with Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) to deliver IPTV in Germany. Deutsche Telekom will use Motorola's High Definition, or HD-ready IPTV set-tops for its 'T-Home Entertain' services.
The company noted that the collaboration will enable T-Home customers to access a variety of multimedia applications in addition to standard TV offerings using a high-quality, optimized Motorola set-top that is already equipped for future services.
On Tuesday, Alcatel-Lucent announced that its Board of Directors approved the appointment of Philippe Camus as the company's non-executive chairman, with effect from October 1, 2008. Further, the company named Ben Verwaayen the company's chief executive officer. Verwaayen will also join the Board of Directors.
Philippe Camus, 60, was the co-chief executive officer at European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., or EADS. He is a co-managing partner of media group Lagardère and a partner of Evercore Partners, a New York-based investment and advisory firm.
Ben Verwaayen, 56, was chief executive officer of BT from February 2002 to June 1, 2008.
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