SINGAPORE/BERLIN (Reuters) – As lockdowns worldwide drive a surge in internet use, boosting online sales for businesses as varied as gaming and food delivery, the stocks of internet providers are an unlikely laggard on global markets.
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective mask uses her mobile phone, as a coronavirus outbreak continues to grow in northern Italy, in Turin, Italy, February 27, 2020. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
In Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, a combination of high fixed costs, debt and market disruption has left telcos significantly underperforming the data-hungry businesses their networks carry.
“It’s a bit of a surprise,” said Kasper Elmgreen, equities head at Europe’s biggest fund manager, Amundi Asset Management.
“The traditional defensive sectors have played defensive, but telecoms have not really been defensive,” he said, pointing to price drops more or less in line with European markets.
Globally, a 13% drop in the MSCI world…
Source Reuters Tech News
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