Sector movers: Vodafone and BT lift telecoms higher

Telecoms stocks were in demand on Thursday with Vodafone on the rise on renewed M&A speculation and BT gaining on reports that it is seeking a new mobile-phone partner.Shares in Vodafone were up 1.8% at 196.6p in afternoon trade after Reuters said last night that joint-venture partner Verizon Communications had hired advisers to prepare a possible bid to buy-out the British firm, taking over its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless (VZW) for $100bn.Reuters cited two people familiar with the matter who said that the US telecom was considering a 50:50 cash-and-stock bid for the remaining VZW interest that it did not already own.In a research report this morning, analysts at Jefferies said: "Our sense is that VZ is attempting to up pressure on Vodafone to engage in discussions. Having unwound the conglomerate discount from the Vodafone share price in the last two months, we think Vodafone feels little pressure to sell out of VZW."They said that with previous reports pinning a price closer to $135bn for the holding, "the valuation will need to climb to much higher to create an outcome acceptable to VOD shareholders in our view".Meanwhile, BT Group was advancing after the Financial Times said that the firm was looking for a new partnership with a mobile operator to boost its services in consumer and business markets.The group plans to use spectrum for faster fourth generation (4G) mobile services to get a better deal on its wholesale agreements with wireless carriers. Vodafone Group is bidding for the mobile services alongside Telefonica's O2 and Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom's British venture EE, the paper said.Sector peers KCOM, Mobile Streams, Inmarsat and Monitise were also in demand this afternoon.Top performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 1,838.71 +1.94%Mobile Telecommunications 4,596.96 +1.82%Fixed Line Telecommunications 3,387.78 +1.77%Chemicals 9,198.37 +1.64%Tobacco 39,377.08 +1.54%Bottom performing sectors so far todayFood Producers & Processors 7,510.18 -2.03%Beverages 14,893.60 -1.04%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 11,216.09 -0.95%Health Care Equipment & Services 4,178.11 -0.87%Banks 4,777.33 -0.65%BC