Surge in telecom stock over tariff hikes, Rs 33k cr added in m-cap

Shares of telecom companies on Monday surged on the back of new tariff plans announced by the operators to be effective from December 3 onwards.

Shares of Vodafone Idea closed at Rs 7.79 apiece, up 14.06 per cent, on the BSE. During the day, the stock hit a high of Rs 8.49, a jump of over 24 per cent. The stock appreciated 13.87 per cent to Rs 7.80 on the NSE. Intra-day, the stock price varied between Rs 7.50 to Rs 8.80, zooming over 28 per cent.

Over 146 crore shares of Vodafone Idea were traded on the NSE and more than 11 crore on the BSE.

Bharti Airtel rose 3.67 per cent to settle at Rs 458.55 on the BSE. The stock gained 9.82 per cent in early trade to hit 52-week high at Rs 485.75.

On the NSE, the stock jumped 9.75 per cent during the day to Rs 485.60.

Later, it settled 4.12 per cent up at Rs 460.70.

In terms of volume, over 5 crore shares of Bharti Airtel were traded on the NSE. Meanwhile, the BSE saw an exchange of over 20 lakh shares.

Analysts said the renewed interest in telecom shares is largely driven by the hike in tariff.

"Telecom companies announced tariff hike in the range of 15% and 40% across different plans which is expected will partially assuage telecos stress and will help in improving ARPUs. Further, a favourable judicial outcome would give the Government room to reduce AGR levies and lessen industry burden," Paras Bothra, President of Equity Research, Ashika Stock Broking said.

Mobile calls and internet charges will go up by up to 50 per cent in the country, as private sector players - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio - on Sunday announced their plans to raise tariffs from December 3 onwards.

Reliance Jio on Sunday said it will launch new unlimited plans from December 6, which will raise its voice and data tariff by up to 40 per cent.

Unlisted Reliance Jio Infocomm is part of Reliance Industries, whose shares gained 2.28 per cent to settle at Rs 1,586.30 on the BSE. On the NSE, the scrip went up 2.30 per cent to close at Rs 1,586.90.

The stock hit 52-week high on stock exchanges during the day.

The companies together added over Rs 33,000 crore in market-capitalisation. Reliance Industries' having a share of over Rs 22,000 crore, Bharti Airtel over Rs 8,300 crore and Vodafone Idea Rs 2,700 crore.