The combined market capitalization of six of India’s 10 most valuable companies rose by Rs 74,111.57 crore last week, with Reliance Industries emerging as the biggest gainer. The rise came during a volatile trading week as the BSE Sensex advanced 177.36 points, or 0.23%.According to news agency ANI, Reliance Industries added Rs 24,696.89 crore to its valuation, taking the total market capitalization to Rs 18,33,117.70 crore.Tata Consultancy Services saw its valuation jump by Rs 19,338.68 crore to Rs 8,38,401.33 crore, while ICICI Bank added Rs 14,515.93 crore to reach a market capitalization of Rs 9,06,901.32 crore.The valuation of Life Insurance Company of India rose by Rs 9,076.37 crore to Rs 5,14,443.69 crore.Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance rose by Rs 3,797.83 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 5,70,515.57 crore, while Larsen & Toubro added Rs 2,685.87 crore to Rs 5,40,228.21 crore.
Airtel, HUL are among the laggards
On the losing side,
Bharti Airtel
It saw the biggest erosion in market cap, losing Rs 20,229.67 crore to settle at Rs 11,40,295.49 crore.Hindustan Unilever’s market valuation fell by Rs 16,212.18 crore to Rs 5,17,380 crore, while State Bank of India lost Rs 12,784.4 crore in valuation to Rs 8,76,077.92 crore.
HDFC Bank
It also saw its market capitalization fall by Rs 2,094.35 crore to Rs 11,79,974.90 crore.Reliance Industries retained its position as India’s most valuable company, followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and LIC.
Markets ended a volatile week with modest gains
Markets ended the week with marginal gains amid a “highly volatile and range-bound trading environment,” said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking Ltd.“Benchmark indices witnessed sharp intraday volatility over the week, driven by persistent weakness of the rupee, mixed global signals, sectoral rotation, and continued uncertainty over inflation and interest rates,” he said, as quoted by ANI.Benchmark indices rebounded on Friday, with the Sensex closing 231.99 points higher at 75,415.35 and the NSE Nifty rising 64.60 points to settle at 23,719.30.Analysts cited optimism surrounding potential progress in peace negotiations between the United States and Iran and easing tensions in the Middle East as factors supporting market sentiment.Local markets are trading with a “moderate positive bias” due to buying at low levels and constructive global signals, news agency PTI quoted Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, as saying.He said: “Globally, the theme of investment in artificial intelligence remained the main driver, while financial stocks led the gains at the local level.”Brent crude prices rose 2.3% to $104.7 per barrel, while foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,891.21 crore in the previous session.