Stocks mixed, AT&T drops on iPhone news

Stocks indexes were mostly lower Monday, with telecommunication companies leading the way down.

AT&T Inc. fell the most out of the 30 stocks of 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 four-year exclusive hold on iPhone customers. AT&T's stock dropped 51 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $28.34. Apple was up $6.33, or 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 Dow Jones industrial average was down 37.31 points, or 0.3 percent, at 11,637.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 index 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.

Losses were spread across the market. Five of the 10 industry groups that make up the S&P 500 index fell. Telecommunications companies fell the most, 1 percent, followed by utilities and energy. 3M Co. led the stocks that make up the Dow with a 1 percent gain.

Oil companies fell after a pipeline in Alaska was shut down because of a leak. - AP