US, European telecom stocks slide as SpaceX spectrum deal rattles sector

Oct 9 (Reuters) US and European telecom stocks tumbled on Friday after SpaceX s acquisition of low-band spectrum heightened concerns over growing competition from satellite-based mobile services. T-Mobile ​US, Verizon and AT T fell between 5% and 6% ‌in premarket trading, while the STOXX Europe 600 Telecommunications index dropped 3.3% to its lowest level since February. Deutsche Telekom, Europe s largest telecom operator by market value, fell 8%, while Britain s Vodafone dropped 4.5%, France s Orange ‌lost ​3.4% and Spain s Telefonica slipped 3.3%. The ⁠slide came after reports that ⁠SpaceX had agreed to acquire private-equity firm Grain Management s nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio in a deal valued at about $8 billion, bolstering the company s ambitions in satellite-to-cellular connectivity. We believe ​the Grain transaction is a clear sign that SpaceX is going to be a more aggressive acquirer of spectrum, ⁠Morgan Stanley analysts said in ⁠a note, adding that any threat to e