Bharti plunges nearly 4% on fear of increased competition

Bharti Airtel, India"s largest mobile telephone service provider, plunged on Wednesday as investors booked profit on fearcompetition may increasein the sector. Media reports quoted the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries may make entry into the sector by bidding for mobile telephone spectrum in the upcoming auction. Shares of Bharti Airtel dropped 3.93% to settle at Rs 265.20.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till Sep. 25, 2012, rising 11.31% compared with the Sensex"s 5.12% rise. It underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 10.58% as against 10.73% rise in the Sensex. Reliance Communications alsoslipped 1.56% while Idea Cellular declined marginally by 0.3%.