Telecom stocks were the focus of investors on September 29, 2026, as they reacted to the August 2026 subscription data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for the domestic market. The regulator’s data showed that Reliance Jio added 24,46,727 new subscribers, Vodafone Idea added 5,06,139, and BSNL added 4,92,831, all higher than their July additions of 24,01,562, 2,40,114, and 1,68,874 respectively. Bharti Airtel added 21,10,812 in August, down from 26,88,348 in July, while MTNL and Reliance Communications recorded declines of 5,879 and 87 respectively.

During the trading session on Tuesday, September 29, certain telecom stocks gained while others lagged. Analysts from Jefferies said the overall pickup in the telecom sector’s mobile subscriber additions in Aug‑26 was positive, but Bharti Airtel was impacted by tariff interventions, with residual pressure likely in Sep‑26. Jefferies analysts noted that Vodafone Idea continued to lose active users ex M2M, although declines moderated versus the past 12‑month average, suggesting early signs of stabilisation. Home broadband remained the standout, delivering stronger net adds versus the mobile segment.

Bharti Airtel shares declined 0.5% after the opening bell, hitting an intraday low of ₹1,762 per share on September 29 as investors reacted to the slower growth in subscriber additions for August 2026 compared to July. After dropping to intraday lows in the early market hours, the stock recovered during the trading session, trading 0.73% higher at around ₹1,784.30 ahead of the market close. Bharti Airtel is India’s second‑largest telecom service provider after Reliance Jio.

Vodafone Idea shares surged 1.5% after the opening bell to hit an intraday high of ₹13.68 per share on Tuesday’s market, but the stock soon declined during the morning hours as investors booked profits. With strong growth in total wireless subscriptions across the states of India in August 2026, investors reacted positively to the update. Later in the afternoon session, Vodafone India stock wiped out its intraday gains to decline to a low of ₹13.26 per share on September 29, yet the stock is set to end higher as of the market close.

MTNL shares declined after the opening bell on Tuesday to hit a low of ₹22.57 per share, before investors started buying the company’s shares with trading volumes surging past 703,000 equity shares on NSE and BSE combined. During the day, the stock fully recovered its intraday losses, surging 1.6% to hit an intraday high of ₹23.32 per share, compared to ₹22.94 per share at the previous equity market close, as per NSE data. The stock is set to close in positive territory after the trading session on September 29.

Reliance Communications, a penny stock, declined 4.4% during the trading session on September 29, as investors focused on the negative subscription data released by TRAI. NSE data showed that the stock lost 4.4% to hit a day’s low of ₹0.85 per share, in contrast to ₹0.89 per share at the previous equity market close. Jio‑parent Reliance Industries shares witnessed selling pressure on Tuesday’s market amid overall selling sentiment in the equity market due to consistent foreign investor outflow, multi‑year high US Treasury yields, and the elevated price of global crude oil.