Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 123.13 points, or 0.31% to 40,144.49.

On the BSE, 3.71 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volumes of 3.13 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 10.84 and a low of Rs 10.20 so far during the day. It hit a 52-week high of Rs 19.40 on 1 January 2019 and a 52-week low of Rs 8.42 on 22 May 2019.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, who recently took charge as the telecom minister, reportedly said that the government will take steps to revive state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL). Responding to questions on the merger of the two telecom PSUs, the minister reportedly said that the clarity on that would evolve going ahead. Merger is a complex business issue and the government will weigh all options before coming to any conclusion, he reportedly added.

MTNL posted a net loss of Rs 755.51 crore in Q4 March 2019 compared with a net loss of Rs 900.20 crore in Q4 March 2018. Net sales rose 9% to Rs 536.84 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018.

MTNL is a state-owned telecommunications service provider in the metro cities of Mumbai and New Delhi.