Kamal Ghorui
Dalal Street ended last week in red with eight of India’s ten most valuable companies together losing Rs 2,81,581.53 crore in market value. State Bank of India emerged as the biggest laggard during the period. The broader market also saw heavy selling pressure. The BSE benchmark index dropped 2,368.29 points, or 2.91%, over the week. “Markets ended the holiday-shortened week with steep losses as escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and a sharp spike in crude oil prices weighed heavily on investor sentiment,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said. Among the top-10 firms by market capitalisation, only two, Reliance Industries and Infosys, managed to register gains. The remaining eight companies saw their valuations shrink. State Bank of India recorded the sharpest decline, with its market capitalisation falling by Rs 53,952.96 crore to Rs 10,55,567.27 crore. Private sector lenders also faced sizeable losses. ICICI Bank’s valuation fell by Rs 46,936.82 crore to Rs 9,40,049.82 crore, while HDFC Bank’s market capitalisation declined by Rs 46,552.3 crore to Rs 13,19,107.08 crore. Larsen & Toubro also witnessed a notable fall in value, with its market capitalisation sliding by Rs 45,629.03 crore to Rs 5,43,208.36 crore. Financial services firm Bajaj Finance saw its valuation contract by Rs 28,934.56 crore to Rs 5,91,136.03 crore. Meanwhile, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) lost Rs 28,492.44 crore in market value, taking its total market capitalisation to Rs 9,25,380.15 crore. Consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever registered a decline of Rs 26,350.67 crore, bringing its market capitalisation down to Rs 5,23,042.51 crore. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel also posted a marginal drop of Rs 4,732.75 crore to Rs 10,67,120.50 crore. In contrast, Reliance Industries added Rs 14,750.39 crore to its market value, pushing its valuation to Rs 19,01,583.05 crore. Infosys too ended the week in positive territory, with its market capitalisation rising by Rs 3,459.99 crore to Rs 5,30,546.54 crore. Reliance Industries retained its position as India’s most valued company, followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever.
