New Delhi, 25 October (H.S.): Eight of India’s 10 most valuable listed companies collectively lost Rs 1,55,671.90 crore in market capitalisation during the previous trading week, as a sharp sell-off in the domestic equity market weighed on corporate valuations. HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance suffered the steepest declines, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were the only companies in the top 10 to register gains.

The combined market capitalisation of the eight companies declined by approximately Rs 1.55 lakh crore over the week. The affected companies were Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Bajaj Finance, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Infosys.

In contrast, TCS and L&T together added Rs 25,306.22 crore to their market valuations, partially offsetting the losses recorded by their peers.

HDFC Bank recorded the largest erosion in market value, with its market capitalisation falling by Rs 55,506.95 crore to Rs 10,67,121.12 crore. Bajaj Finance followed, shedding Rs 34,180.51 crore to end the week with a valuation of Rs 5,77,146.21 crore.

Reliance Industries, the country’s most valuable listed company, saw its market capitalisation decline by Rs 27,065.08 crore to Rs 16,10,372.11 crore. LIC’s valuation contracted by Rs 21,062.24 crore to Rs 4,81,142.58 crore.

Bharti Airtel’s market capitalisation decreased by Rs 9,360.75 crore to Rs 11,79,454.70 crore, while SBI lost Rs 4,338.46 crore in market value, bringing its valuation to Rs 8,83,384.38 crore.

Infosys recorded a decline of Rs 2,881.38 crore, taking its market capitalisation to Rs 4,68,528.03 crore. ICICI Bank’s valuation fell by Rs 1,276.53 crore to Rs 10,01,594.91 crore.

Bucking the broader downward trend, TCS added Rs 23,517.56 crore to its market capitalisation, which rose to Rs 9,14,652.52 crore. L&T registered a more modest increase of Rs 1,788.66 crore, taking its market value to Rs 5,01,513.72 crore.

**Reliance Industries retains top position**

Despite the weekly decline in its valuation, Reliance Industries retained its position as India’s most valuable listed company, followed by Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank.

The ranking of the top 10 companies by market capitalisation at the end of the week was as follows:

Reliance Industries led the list with a market value of Rs 16,10,372.11 crore, followed by Bharti Airtel at Rs 11,79,454.70 crore and HDFC Bank at Rs 10,67,121.12 crore.

ICICI Bank occupied fourth place with a valuation of Rs 10,01,594.91 crore, while TCS ranked fifth at Rs 9,14,652.52 crore.

SBI stood sixth with a market capitalisation of Rs 8,83,384.38 crore, followed by Bajaj Finance at Rs 5,77,146.21 crore and L&T at Rs 5,01,513.72 crore.

LIC ranked ninth with a market value of Rs 4,81,142.58 crore, while Infosys completed the top 10 at Rs 4,68,528.03 crore.

The weekly performance highlighted the uneven impact of the market downturn on India’s largest listed companies, with eight recording valuation losses even as TCS and L&T managed to advance against the broader trend.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar