Telecom stocks end in red amid uncertainty over statutory dues

Shares of Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel closed marginally lower on Monday even as investors kept their fingers crossed amid uncertainty over statutory dues.

State-owned MTNL was 8.14 per cent down over the previous close of Rs 9.35 on the BSE. Vodafone Idea’s shares closed 0.58 per cent down to Rs 3.42 per unit. Intra-day, the stock gained as much as 18.89 per cent to hit upper circuit at Rs 3.78.

The stock lost all its early gains after the Supreme Court rejected Vodafone Idea’s proposal to pay Rs 2,500 crore by the end of Monday, and Rs 1,000 crore by Friday against adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

However, after market hours, Vodafone Idea and Tata group have made part payments of about Rs 2,500 crore and over Rs 2,190 crore, respectively, to the telecom department towards statutory dues, a government official said.