Stocks of Airtel, Idea nosedive soon after Reliance Jio 4G launch

Shares of Idea Cellular and Bharti Airtel plunged up to 9 per cent today after RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced free voice calling and cheaper data tariffs for Jio customers. 

Ambani gave glimpses of what Reliance Jio will bring to the people at RIL's 42th shareholder meeting, on Thursday, in Mumbai.

Idea Cellular tanked 9 per cent to Rs 85 -- its 52-week low on BSE. 

Shares of Bharti Airtel dropped 8.99 per cent to Rs 302. Ambani also announced a 'free welcome offer' for Jio customers from September 5 till December 31. 

Reliance Jio will offer users data services free for four months, after which it will offer 10 tariff plans starting at Rs 19 a day for occasional users, Rs 149 a month for low data users and Rs 4,999 a month for heavy data users. 

At the RIL's 42th Annual General Meeting, the billionaire industrialist said Jio is targeting 100 million users in a shortest possible time. 

Moreover, within 45 minutes of Ambani's speech IDEA lost Rs. 2450 crore, Bharti lost Rs.9800 crore of market cap.

Telecom sector stocks cracked 3% during Mukesh Ambani's address at Reliance AGM.

Share prices of Idea and Airtel slashed by around 3% and 4% respectively soon after Reliance Jio was formally launched in Mumbai on Thursday.

(Read more: Reliance Jio 4G launch: Highlights of Mukesh Ambani's speech at AGM)