What happened Shares of T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) declined by 11.2% on Thursday, coinciding with a vicious marketwide sell-off that saw the major U.S. indexes fall nearly 10%. So what The outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is causing panic to spread throughout the financial markets. More than 127,000 people have been infected with the disease and over 4,700 have died. Markets around the world have plunged in response. The measures being taken to combat COVID-19 are likely to have severe economic ramifications. Travel bans, business closures, and forced quarantines will all take a toll on the economy -- and concerns are mounting that we're headed for a recession. T-Mobile and many other stocks declined sharply on Thursday. Image source: Getty Images. Now what If a recession takes hold, T-Mobile should hold up relatively well. People are unlikely to cancel their cellphone service in the middle of a crisis. T-Mobile's plans are often priced considerably lower than its rivals AT&T and Verizon, which should further help it hold on to cost-conscious customers. T-Mobile is also getting very close to finalizing its merger with Sprint (NYSE: S). The deal is expected to result in substantial operational synergies, as the two wireless competitors reduce redundancies and enjoy increased scale advantages. This, in turn, should allow the combined company to be significantly more profitable than either business could be alone. As such, the current sell-off could be a good time to pick up some shares of T-Mobile. 10 stocks we like better than T-Mobile USWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and T-Mobile US wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source