Reliance, Airtel shares end on mixed note amid tie-ups with rival SpaceX

New Delhi: Shares of Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel ended on a mixed note on Wednesday after the two firms announced their partnerships with Elon Musk's SpaceX for providing high-speed internet services in India.

On the BSE, Bharti Airtel shares fell 1.12 per cent to close at Rs 1,642.60 apiece. On the NSE, the stock closed lower by 0.92 per cent at Rs 1,647.70 per piece.

Reliance Industries on the other hand rose 0.74 per cent to close at Rs 1,256.60 apiece on the BSE.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the shares advanced by 0.69 per cent to finish at Rs 1,255.95 per piece.

On Wednesday, Reliance Industries' digital services company Jio Platforms said it has signed an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink's broadband internet services to its customers in India.

The announcement came a day after rival Bharti Airtel signed a similar pact with SpaceX.

Both the domestic telecom operators said the agreements are subject to SpaceX receiving authorisation to sell Starlink in India.

Meanwhile, shares of telecom carrier Vodafone Idea slipped more than 3 per cent on the stock exchanges a day after a Trai report said that the company lost 17.15 lakh wireless subscribers in December.

The scrip of Vodafone Idea slipped 3.54 per cent to settle at Rs 7.08 apiece on the BSE.

On the NSE, it decreased by 3.27 per cent to close at Rs 7.10 per piece.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 72.56 points to close at 74,029.76. The NSE Nifty slipped 27.40 points to end at 22,470.50.

On Tuesday, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said the total telephone subscriber base in India grew marginally to 1,189.92 million in December 2024 with Jio adding the highest number of subscribers in both mobile and fixed-line segments.

Total telephone subscribers stood at 1,187.15 million in November, as per Trai.

Reliance Jio Infocomm was the frontrunner with 476.58 million broadband subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (289.31 million), and Vodafone Idea (126.38 million).

Reliance Jio added 39.06 lakh wireless subscribers, while Bharti Airtel saw a net addition of 10.33 lakh during the period. However, Vodafone Idea lost 17.15 lakh wireless subscribers, according to the data.