Airtel, Vodafone Idea rise 5% after TDSAT rejects predatory pricing rules

Shares of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Friday climbed as much as 5.32 per cent a day after the telecom tribunal TDSAT struck down Trai's new rules on predatory pricing saying they lacked required transparency.

Shares of Bharti Airtel rose 5.32 per cent to end at Rs 318.8 on the BSE. Intra-day, it was trading at Rs 332.9, higher 9.97 per cent from the previous close.

On the other hand, Vodafone Idea gained 3.58 per cent to close at Rs 36.15. It had risen 8.02 per cent to Rs 37.7, its highest during the day.

In terms of the equity volume, over 11.9 lakh shares of Bharti Airtel were traded during the day, while more than 33.5 lakh units of Vodafone Idea changed hands on the BSE.

On Thursday, the telecom tribunal set aside sectoral regulator Trai's new norms on predatory pricing for lack of transparency in the guidelines over determining market share and rates of services.

The order provides much-needed relief to operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea who had alleged that the rules were tailored for a new entrant.