Bharti Airtel stock price plunges after Moody's rating downgrade

Bharti Airtel shares fell 4.5 per cent Tuesday after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of the telecom operator. Shares of the company declined 4.33 per cent to Rs 293.30 on BSE.

On NSE, shares dropped 4.46 per cent to Rs 292.85. "Moody's has downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3 the senior unsecured rating for Bharti Airtel as well as the backed senior unsecured notes issued by Bharti's wholly-owned subsidiary, Bharti Airtel Int'l (Netherlands) BV," the agency said in the statement.

Credit ratings reflect the company's calibre to repay debt and raise funds. Ratings range between Aaa, which means best, to lowest category C. Ba1 rating means obligations are judged to have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk but have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.