Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Equities fall; Nextel is top decliner

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 14:26:19 -0400

Equities fall; Nextel is top decliner

By Jeffry Bartash, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:46 AM ET April 30, 2003

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of telecommunications companies drifted lower Wednesday as
recent
momentum generated by quarterly earnings reports fizzled out.

Nextel Communications (NXTL: news, chart, profile) was among the top
decliners, off 4.5 percent to $14.91. In a note to clients, Deutsche Bank questioned
whether the stock had risen
higher than its financial condition and market position warranted.

The decline, if it holds, would represent the first drop in the company's stock in one
week. Shares had climbed
from $12.07 to as high as $15.75 during that period - the result of strong first-quarter
results.

Investors, meanwhile, were paying close attention to comments by Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan on
the state of the U.S. economy. He told Congress that growth is likely to accelerate this
year, but "the timing and
extent of that improvement remains uncertain." See full story.

In recent trading, American Stock Exchange's Networking Index, which represents large
manufacturers, slipped
0.6 percent. Nine of the 15 index stocks declined, though losses registered 2 percent or
less.

Nokia (NOK: news, chart, profile) and Lucent Technologies (LU: news, chart, profile) each
rose a few pennies.

The more broadly based Nasdaq Telecommunications Index inched 0.2 percent lower. Fourteen
of the 20 largest
stocks fell, but three of the five biggest stocks eked out fractional gains to limit the
group's losses.

Qualcomm (QCOM: news, chart, profile) rose two pennies, while Ericsson (ERICY: news,
chart, profile) and
EchoStar Networks (DISH: news, chart, profile) both added 18 cents.

In the phone sector, eight of the 13 stocks in the Standard & Poor's Communications
Services Index tacked
lower. Yet Sprint PCS (PCS: news, chart, profile) was the only notable decliner, off 13
cents, or 3.6 percent, to
$3.52.

On the upside, BellSouth jumped 52 cents to $25.13 for a 2.1 percent gain.

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