Telecoms lead stocks lower

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks indexes were mostly lower today, with telecommunication companies leading the way down.

AT&T Inc. fell the most out of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average. Its competitor, Verizon Wireless, is expected to announce Tuesday that it will start selling Apple Inc.’s iPhone, breaking AT&T’s long hold on iPhone customers.

AT&T’s stock dropped 1.8 percent to $28.34. Apple gained 1.8 percent to $342.45.

Stocks spent most of the day lower ahead of the latest round of corporate earnings reports. After the market closed, Alcoa Inc. reported that rising sales of aluminum products helped it turn a profit of 24 cents a share in its fourth quarter. The results topped analysts’ estimates of 18 cents a share.

The week started with news of two big corporate deals. DuPont, a major chemical company, said it would buy a Danish food maker for $5.8 billion. Duke Energy Corp. said it will buy Progress Energy Inc. in a $13 billion deal that would create one of the country’s largest utilities. Duke fell 1.2 percent to $17.58.

The Dow ended the day down 37.31 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 11,637.45

The Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 1.75, or 0.1 percent, to 1,269.75. The Nasdaq composite gained 4.63, or 0.2 percent, to 2,707.80.