Sector movers: Telecoms gain wth Vodafone deal in sight

Shares in telecoms giant Vodafone were continuing to rise on Monday after the company confirmed that it is in 'advanced' talks with Verizon about selling its stake in their US joint venture, Verizon Wireless (VZW). The stock, one of the largest listed companies in London by market cap, was up 3.4% at 213.2p by the close of trade, giving a big boost the wider telecoms sector which was at the top of the leaderboard table today.Vodafone said late last week that it was considering selling its 45% interest in Verizon Wireless, the biggest US mobile network, to Verizon, sparking a big jump in the share price. A brief statement released this morning by the British firm earmarked the sale at around $130bn (£84bn).The shares have now risen by around 11% since the initial announcement on August 29th.Ronnie Chopra, Head of Strategy at Tradenext, said that if the sale goes through at the stated price, Vodafone "could have the mother of all share buybacks if wished".Sector peer BT was also a standout performer today on the back of upbeat comments from Credit Suisse which reiterated its 'outperform' rating for the shares. The broker said that BT's second-quarter update next month will see rising wholesale fibre adds and a slowdown in the rate of line loss.Satellite operator Inmarsat also jumped after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the stock from 'equalweight' to 'overweight', citing the potential for its US business given the possible "reactivation" of its co-operation agreement with US group LightSquared. Monitise and TalkTalk were also making gains in the telecoms sector today.Top performing sectors so far todayFixed Line Telecommunications 3,861.69 +3.73%Mobile Telecommunications 4,960.40 +3.21%Mining 16,805.20 +3.05%Personal Goods 25,328.70 +2.93%Industrial Transportation 3,170.66 +2.53%Bottom performing sectors so far todayOil & Gas Producers 7,806.40 -0.23%