Telecommunications stocks fall as much as 7 percent amid broader market plunge Thursday

Sector Wrap: Telecommunications stocks

SAN FRANCISCO — Shares of telecommunication stocks fell as much 7 percent Thursday as the broader market nosedived.

The Standard & Poor’s telecommunication index fell as low as 98.51 in trading Thursday before recovering to close at 103.34.

In one of the most turbulent half-hours in stock market history, the Dow Jones industrial average sank nearly 1,000 points due to concerns that Greece’s debt problems will spread to other European countries and, eventually, hinder the U.S.’s economic recovery. There were also reports that a technical glitch hastened the selling that led to the dramatic drop.

The Dow was able to recover two-thirds of its losses and closed down 347 at 10,520. All the major indexes lost 3 percent in a day that hearkened back to the turmoil of the 2008 financial crisis.

Shares of AT&T Inc., the country’s largest telecommunications provider and second-largest wireless carrier, fell 63 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $25.14. Meanwhile, shares of Verizon Communications Inc., the nation’s largest wireless carrier and second-largest telecommunications company, declined 67 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $28.01. Shares of Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, dipped 2 cents to close at $4.16.