BSE telecom index edges higher; Airtel, HFCL top gainers

Mumbai, Dec 18 (IANS) The S&P BSE telecom index zoomed higher on Monday -- after taking a plunge of over 3 per cent during opening trade -- driven by telecom stocks like Bharti Airtel and manufacturers of telecommunication equipment and optical fibre cables like Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL).

The telecom index took to an upward rally as counting trends indicated a victory for the BJP in both the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

At 1.15 p.m., the index rose by 1.53 per cent, riding on the certainty that the ruling BJP was set to retain power in Gujarat. In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP was set to wrest power from the Congress.

Stocks of Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular -- which initially plunged almost 6 per cent following an early beating taken by the key BSE Sensex index -- traded higher during the mid-afternoon session.

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel, which dipped to a low of Rs 485 per share -- down 6.54 per cent from its previous close -- during initial trade, rose by 1.96 per cent to trade at Rs 529 per scrip.

Other telecom players which showed an upward trend were Idea Cellular (up 1.70 per cent at Rs 95.55 per share), Reliance Communications (up 0.17 per cent at Rs 11.8), and Tata Communications (up 0.14 per cent at Rs 688.45).

Manufacturers of telecommunication equipment and optical fibre cables like HFCL and Vindhya Telelinks traded on a bullish note on the BSE market breadth.

HFCL traded higher by 2.28 per cent at Rs 29.10, while Vindhya Telelinks edged higher by 1.80 per cent to Rs 1,340.

Around the same time, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE traded at 33,670.57 points -- up 207.60 points or 0.62 per cent, while the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) traded higher by 71.35 points or 0.69 per cent at 10,404.60 points.