NEW DELHI: Despite a weak week for benchmark indices, four of India’s 10 most-valued companies added nearly Rs 93,000 crore to their combined market capitalisation, led by strong gains in HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel.The combined valuation of Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) rose by Rs 92,995.48 crore during the week, while the remaining six companies in the top-10 pack together lost Rs 49,294.13 crore in market value.
Performance of four gainers
- HDFC Bank emerged as the biggest gainer, with its market capitalisation increasing by Rs 35,808.09 crore to Rs 12.69 lakh crore.
- Bharti Airtel followed closely, adding Rs 34,896.92 crore to take its valuation to Rs 11.99 lakh crore.
- LIC’s market value rose by Rs 16,065.5 crore to Rs 5.60 lakh crore
- Reliance Industries added Rs 6,224.97 crore, retaining its position as India’s most valuable listed company with a market capitalisation of Rs 17.71 lakh crore.
The laggards
Hindustan Unilever registered the steepest decline among the top-10 firms, with its valuation falling by Rs 12,088.65 crore to Rs 5.05 lakh crore.Larsen & Toubro lost Rs 11,040.23 crore in market value, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) saw its valuation decline by Rs 8,574.87 crore. Bajaj Finance shed Rs 7,813.58 crore, followed by ICICI Bank, whose market capitalisation slipped by Rs 6,315.32 crore. State Bank of India also witnessed a decline of Rs 3,461.48 crore during the week.Meanwhile, equity market ended the week in negative territory amid renewed geopolitical concerns and rising crude oil prices. The BSE Sensex fell 194.52 points, or 0.25%, while the NSE Nifty declined 63.95 points, or 0.26%.Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President (Research) at Religare Broking, said markets began the week on a firm footing, supported by easing crude oil prices, encouraging first-quarter business updates, favourable monsoon progress and broad-based buying.However, sentiment weakened mid-week after tensions between the US and Iran escalated, triggering a sharp sell-off before benchmark indices recovered a significant portion of their losses over the final two trading sessions, he added.
