Top 10 firms lose Rs 1.56 lakh crore in market value last week

Mumbai: The combined market capitalisation of eight of India's 10 most valuable listed companies declined by Rs 1.55 lakh crore last week as a broad-based sell-off in equities weighed on valuations, with HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance accounting for the largest share of the losses.

The decline came during a holiday-shortened trading week in which the benchmark indices witnessed significant pressure. The Sensex dropped 1,605.44 points, or 2.15 per cent, while the Nifty fell 546.15 points, or 2.36 per cent.

Reflecting the weakness in the broader market, the total market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies fell by Rs 20.79 lakh crore over four trading sessions, ending at Rs 451.83 lakh crore compared with Rs 472.62 lakh crore on October 16.

Among the top 10 most-valued firms, eight companies together lost Rs 1,55,671.9 crore in market value. In contrast, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were the only companies in the elite club to end the week with gains in their market capitalisation.

HDFC Bank recorded the sharpest erosion in value, with its market capitalisation declining by Rs 55,506.95 crore to Rs 10.67 lakh crore. The lender's shares fell around 5 per cent during the week.

Bajaj Finance was the second-largest loser as its valuation dropped by Rs 34,180.51 crore to Rs 5.77 lakh crore.

Reliance Industries also witnessed a substantial decline, with its market capitalisation falling by Rs 27,065.08 crore to Rs 16.10 lakh crore. The valuation of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) decreased by Rs 21,062.24 crore to Rs 4.81 lakh crore.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel saw its market value shrink by Rs 9,360.75 crore to Rs 11.79 lakh crore, while State Bank of India's valuation fell by Rs 4,338.46 crore to Rs 8.83 lakh crore.

Similarly, the market capitalisation of Infosys declined by Rs 2,881.38 crore to Rs 4.69 lakh crore, while ICICI Bank's valuation slipped by Rs 1,276.53 crore to Rs 10.02 lakh crore.

On the gaining side, TCS added Rs 23,517.56 crore to its market value, taking its overall valuation to Rs 9.15 lakh crore. Engineering and infrastructure major L&T also bucked the negative trend, with its market capitalisation rising by Rs 1,788.66 crore to Rs 5.02 lakh crore.

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