JIO TARIFF CICK FOR TELECOM STOCKS

Telecom stocks today surged up to 8 per cent after the recent increase in Reliance Jio tariffs, which is largely seen as positive for the sector. Shares of Bharti Airtel jumped 4.99 per cent to close at Rs 497.50 on BSE. Bharti Airtel was the biggest gainer among the 30-share index components. The scrip of Idea Cellular soared 7.74 per cent to end at Rs 98.15 and Reliance Communications zoomed 7.60 per cent to Rs 17.70. Reliance Jio made its service dearer by about 15 per cent for its popular 84-day plan at Rs 459 from October 19, under which subscribers get 1GB 4G data at high speed per day. The company restructured its various schemes by reducing their validity period. The recent increase in Reliance Jio tariffs will increase its average revenue per user by up to 20 per cent and is a positive for the telecom sector, which is seeing a rapid consolidation, says a Philip Capital report. Established telecom sector players have seen huge reduction in their margins. Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications first time reported consolidated loss mainly on account of free services launched by Jio. "The Indian telecom industry is seeing huge amount of consolidation and with decreasing choices for the subscribers the operators will compete on quality of service over the medium to long-term. This could mean sustained increase in ARPU over the medium to long-term. We are highly optimistic on the prospects of the Indian telecom industry," the report said. ARPU is average revenue per user.

SENSEX UP BY 117 POINTS

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended its three-day losing run to close higher by nearly 117 points or 0.36 per cent after a volatile trade on the back of gains in telecom, energy, oil & gas, banking and auto stocks. The 30-share index settled higher by 116.76 points or 0.36 per cent, at 32,506.72, driven by gains in Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, ICICI, HDFC Bank and Infosys. The broader Nifty of National Stock Exchange scaled the 10,200 mark intra day before closing at 10,184.85, showing a sizeable gain of 38.30 points, or 0.38 per cent. It shuttled between a high 10,224.15 and low of 10,124.50 in day trade.

Covering-up by speculators, who had been creating short positions, gave equities a push, a broker said. Sentiment also got a lift after Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia suggested some rejig in GST rate structure to reduce the burden on small and medium businesses, brokers said. Besides, positive cues from Asian markets with the Japan's Nikkei posting the longest winning-streak of 15 days in its nearly 70-year history as markets cheered the weekend election victory of pro-business prime minister Shinzo Abe, had a positive impact, they said.

- After a long Diwali break, market commenced higher at 32,411.86 points, tracking a firm trend at Asian markets. But stocks quickly slipped into negative terrain to hit a low of 32,312.74 as participants booked profits at improved levels. However, revival of buying towards the middle of the session helped the index wipe out losses and touch a high of 32,614.89 before settling 0.36 per cent higher.

- Overall, in the last three straight sessions, the 30- share barometer had lost 243.68, including 194.39 points on the first day of Samvat 2074 in one-hour special 'Muhurat' session on Thursday on sustained foreign fund outflows.

- Buying activity was so strong that sectoral indices, led by telecom, energy, realty and oil and gas, ended in the green. Optimistic buying in some bluechip companies ahead of quarterly earnings to be released later this week too supported the rally.

- Among 30 Sensex scrips 16 ended higher while remaining 14 closed lower. Bharti Airtel emerged as top performer with 4.99 per cent rise, followed by Reliance Industries at 3.05 per cent. Other gainers that supported the rebound were ICICI Bank 1.82 per cent, Wipro 1.63 per cent, Adani Ports 1.36 per cent, Infosys 1.35 per cent, SBI 1.34 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 1.33 per cent, Coal India 1.31 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 1.07 per cent, Power Grid 1 per cent and Tata Steel 0.99 per cent.

- Among the laggards were Cipla, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, HDFC Ltd, Lupin, Tata Motors, ITC Ltd, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Auto and L&T, falling up to 2.38 per cent.

- Sector-wise, telecom rose the most 2.82 per cent followed by energy 1.80 per cent, teck 1.26 per cent, realty 1.04 per cent, IT 0.90 per cent, Power 0.85 per cent, oil & gas 0.81 per cent and PSU 0.54 per cent. While, FMCG fell by 0.66 per cent, healthcare 0.64 per cent and capital goods 0.23 per cent.

The Nifty managed to end on a positive note, courtesy to smart buying in the latter half of the day.

- Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking.

Market regained after a weak start due to expectation of earnings growth and positive global growth. Telecom sector outperformed on value buying in expectation of normalisation of tariffs, consolidation in the industry, and better outlook on data usage.

- Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.