Telecom stocks tank on back of Moody's negative outlook

Telecom stocks were battered during Wednesday's trade as the top rating agency Moody's announced a negative outlook for the sector.

The stock of telecom companies which were already battling with huge debt and competition were further hit on Wednesday by Moody's negative outlook. The rating agency has cited reduced profitability due to competition as the reason for its view.

BSE Telecom index was at 1,568.37 points, down 1.15 per cent, wherein major telecom service providers' stocks closed in the red zone. The bellwether of Indian telecom stocks, Bharti Airtel closed at Rs. 498.70 per share, down by 0.88 per cent; Idea Cellular closed at Rs. 98.60 per share, down 2.18 per cent, MTNL closed at Rs. 21.45, down 0.46 per cent and Tata Communications closed at Rs. 695.40, down 0.47 per cent.

Meanwhile, stock of Aksh OptiFibre closed at Rs. 32.45 per share, up 4.85 per cent; ITI closed at Rs. 143.35, up 1.49 per cent; GTL Limited closed at Rs. 14.70, up 1.38 per cent, Vindhya Telelinks closed at Rs. 1,309.90, up 1.04 per cent and Sterlite Technologies closed at Rs. 268.60, up 0.28 per cent.