Airtel rebounds as JioPhone launch not seen too disruptive

Shares of Bharti Airtel rebounded as JioPhone launch was not seen to be too disruptive.

Bharti Airtel gained 0.8 per cent after earlier falling as much as 1.3 per cent; Idea Cellular shed 2.8 per cent.

Airtel shares fell about 2 per cent on Friday, while Idea Cellular dropped over 3 per cent after rival Reliance Jio, the Mukesh Ambani-backed mobile carrier, unveiled

JioPhone, a “zero cost" 4G-enabled device. “While refundable, the cost of acquiring the device is not game changing when compared against existing feature phone prices,” Jefferies said.

The Rs 153 per month plan too compared favorably against the Rs 142-158 average revenue per user across the top three carriers, Jefferies added.

Shares of Reliance Industries, Reliance Jio's parent company, was up as much as 2.4 per cent.