Airtel, Idea shares nosedive as Reliance Jio free offer gets extension

Shares of Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular on Thursday plunged after Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio, leveled serious allegations on telecom sector and its approach towads Reliance Jio.

At 1433 hours, the shares of Bharti Airtel was trading at Rs 314.85 per piece, down 2.97%, or Rs 9.30. The shares opened at Rs 325.55 and touched a high at Rs 325.55 and low at Rs 314.40.

At the same time, the shares of Idea Cellular were trading at Rs 74.25 per piece, down 4.26%, or Rs 3.30. The shares opened at high at Rs 78 and touched a low at Rs 74.20.

The shares of Reliance Communications were trading at Rs 36 per piece, down 4.38%, or Rs 1.65.

Shares of Reliance Industries were trading at Rs 1000.15, up 0.75%, or Rs 7.40.

Ambani announced the extension of Jio Welcome benefits up to March 31, 2017. He said, "Starting 4 December 2016, every new Jio user will get #Jio’s Data, Voice, Video and the full bouquet of Jio applications free, till 31 March 2017".

Ambani also accused Jio's rivals (mainly Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone) for not supporting Jio's superior technology to customers. 

"While customers have shown unprecedented love for Jio, we have not received the required support from existing operators," Ambani said.