Dalal Street ended last week in the red as eight of India’s 10 most valuable companies together lost Rs 2,81,581.53 crore in market cap. The State Bank of India emerged as the largest defaulting bank during this period.
The broader market also saw intense selling pressure. The main Bahrain Stock Exchange index fell 2,368.29 points, or 2.91%, during the week. “Markets ended the short holiday week with heavy losses, as escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and sharp rise in crude oil prices weighed heavily on investor sentiment,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President, Research, Religare Broking Ltd. Among the ten largest companies by market capitalization, only two companies, Reliance Industries and Infosys, were able to record gains. The remaining eight companies saw their valuations shrink.
State Bank of India recorded the biggest decline, with its market capitalization falling by Rs 53,952.96 crore to Rs 10,55,567.27 crore. Private sector lenders also faced significant losses. ICICI Bank’s valuation fell by Rs 46,936.82 crore to Rs 9,40,049.82 crore, while HDFC Bank’s market cap fell by Rs 46,552.3 crore to Rs 13,19,107.08 crore. Larsen & Toubro also saw a significant decline in value, with its market cap falling by Rs 45,629.03 crore to Rs 5,43,208.36 crore.
Financial services firm Bajaj Finance saw its valuation contract rise 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 cap, taking its total market capitalization to Rs 9,25,380.15 crore. Consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever recorded a decline of Rs 26,350.67 crore, taking its market capitalization to Rs 5,23,042.51 crore.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel also registered a marginal decline 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 capitalization, taking its valuation to Rs 19,01,583.05 crore. Infosys also ended the week in positive territory, with its market capitalization rising by Rs 3,459.99 crore to Rs 5,30,546.54 crore. Reliance Industries retained its position as India’s most valuable company, followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever.