Bharti Airtel jumps 4%, sees sharpest intraday gain in 3 months; here's why

Thus far in 2026, Bharti Airtel stock underperformed and was down 12%.

Bharti Airtel share price movement

 

Bharti Airtel's share price moved 3.9 per cent higher to ₹1,869 on the BSE in Thursday’s intraday deals, recording its sharpest intraday rally in the past three months after Jio Platforms announced its initial public offering (IPO). Earlier, on July 9, 2026, the stock price of the telecom services provider surged 3.98 per cent.

 

At 11:56 AM, Bharti Airtel was up 3.6 per cent at ₹1,863.40, as compared to a 1.65 per cent rise in the BSE Sensex. The stock was the top gainer among the 30-share Sensex and 50-share Nifty index.

 

However, thus far in the calendar year 2026, Bharti Airtel has declined 12 per cent in line with the Nifty 50’s fall. The stock hit a 52-week low of ₹1,726.30 on October 1, 2026. It touched a 52-week high of ₹2,174.50 on November 11, 2025.

 

 

What’s driving Bharti Airtel stock price?

 

Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL), the Reliance Industries (RIL)-controlled digital services company that houses India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio, will launch its IPO next week in a price band of ₹1,065-1,119 a share. The IPO is set to become India’s largest, with JPL seeking to raise ₹30,213 crore at the upper end of the price band, valuing it at about ₹10.3 trillion.

 

According to reports, grey market activity indicates strong investor interest in the digital and telecom arm of RIL. According to websites tracking grey market activities, the grey market premium (GMP) surged to around ₹220 on Wednesday evening as soon as the IPO details were announced. This implied a premium of 20 per cent over the upper-end of the price band.

 

On Thursday morning, the premium moderated, but Jio Platforms shares traded at a significant premium in the grey market. Last check, Jio Platforms shares traded at ₹1,319, implying a premium of ₹200 per share, or 17.87 per cent over the upper-end of the price band, the Business Standard reported. READ MORE

 

The key debate going into the JPL IPO is its potential impact on Bharti Airtel, as there could be a shift in telecom sector allocations with another large listed investible option. However, analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) believe concerns around a partial shift in the telecom allocation weight from Bharti Airtel to JPL are overblown, given JPL’s limited initial free float (vs. Bharti’s FII/DII ownership). Further, with expectations of a tariff hike soon after JPL’s IPO, the brokerage firm expects strong earnings delivery, which could also lead to potential multiple re-rating for both Bharti Airtel and JPL.

 

Meanwhile, the delay in implementing a tariff hike (vs. initial expectations of December 2025) has been a key reason for the muted stock performance of Bharti Airtel and RIL vs. Nifty 50, in analysts' view. After the JPL IPO and Vodafone Idea’s impending fundraise, MOFSL believes the case for a tariff hike is stronger and builds in a smartphone tariff hike of 15 per cent in December 2026, which should provide visibility on delivering 15 per cent earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over FY26-29E. Disclaimer: Views and outlook in this report belong to the brokerages and analysts cited. They do not reflect the views of Business Standard. Readers are advised to exercise discretion.