Bharti, Idea shoot up after ignoring spectrum auction

Shares of Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular rallied quite smartly in early trade on Tuesday as major GSM players decided to stay away from spectrum auction.

In a setback to the government ahead of the Budget, there are no takers for the 900 MHZ GSM spectrum in the upcoming auctions in March as Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Idea have decided not to participate.

According to CNBC-TV18 reports, this comes after, the Delhi High Court refused to grant a stay on the 900 MHZ auctions based on the pleas of Vodafone and Bharti Airtel on Monday.

The research firm Citi recommended a buy rating on Bharti with a target price of Rs 397. "Not applying for the upcoming spectrum auctions should help lower the hit from license renewals," Citi reasoned.
 
At 09:27 hours IST, shares of Bharti jumped 4.5 percent to Rs 320.75 on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, Aditya Birla Group company Idea Cellular rose by 3.38 percent to Rs 117.65.