Communications services companies rose as traders hewed to higher-growth sectors with strong momentum.

The communications services industry group of the S&P 500 was the strongest of the 11 sectors in the broad index, and also saw the largest increase in fourth-quarter earnings growth rates, according to data from S&P Global.

AT&T shares fell after the telecom giant said it reset the passcodes of about 7.6 million account holders whose personal information was leaked on the dark web. "Merely hearing the phrase data breach -- if you're a CTO -- must be one of their worst nightmares," said J.D. Joyce, president of Houston financial advisory Joyce Wealth Management. "It doesn't seem to be moving the stock too much, but it's just another example of all the problems with the Dark Web."

Liberty Media reached an agreement to acquire Dorna Sports S.L., which owns the rights to the MotoGP World Championship, from Bridgepoint and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a deal with an enterprise value of roughly $4.5 billion.

Shares of Truth Social's parent Trump Media & Technology slid after Donald Trump's social-media company disclosed it nearly ran out of cash last year and would have struggled to survive without the recent deal that took it public.

Authentic Brands Group, which owns legacy sports magazine Sports Illustrated, sued Manoj Bhargava who has agreed to buy it, saying the 5-Hour Energy creator and the publisher he controls owe millions in missed payments.

Google plans to destroy a trove of data that reflects millions of users' web-browsing histories, part of a settlement of a lawsuit that alleged the company tracked people without their knowledge.


Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-01-24 1752ET