Stock market recap: Seven of top-10 firms lose Rs 1.54 lakh crore in value; Reliance suffers steepest fall

Seven of India’s 10 most-valued companies saw their combined market valuation shrink by Rs 1.54 lakh crore last week, with Reliance Industries accounting for the biggest decline. The losses came during the holiday-shortened trading week in which the BSE Sensex fell 639.61 points, or 0.84%, while the NSE Nifty slipped 171.55 points, or 0.72%.Among the country’s top 10 firms by market value, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Bajaj Finance and Hindustan Unilever witnessed a fall in their valuations. In contrast, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) posted gains.Reliance Industries recorded the steepest decline, with its market capitalisation dropping by Rs 46,078.3 crore to Rs 17,87,039.40 crore.HDFC Bank’s valuation fell by Rs 33,333.06 crore, taking its market value to Rs 11,46,641.84 crore.Bharti Airtel lost Rs 25,408.96 crore in valuation, ending the week with a market capitalisation of Rs 11,14,886.53 crore. TCS also saw a sharp decline, with its valuation falling by Rs 22,920.58 crore to Rs 8,15,480.75 crore.Hindustan Unilever’s market value decreased by Rs 13,169.46 crore to Rs 5,04,210.54 crore. Bajaj Finance shed Rs 7,253.24 crore in valuation, taking its market capitalisation to Rs 5,63,262.33 crore, while ICICI Bank’s valuation declined by Rs 6,311.41 crore to Rs 9,00,589.91 crore.On the gaining side, Larsen & Toubro added Rs 20,608.43 crore to reach a market capitalisation of Rs 5,60,836.64 crore.State Bank of India saw its valuation rise by Rs 13,753.62 crore to Rs 8,89,831.54 crore, while LIC added Rs 6,040.37 crore, taking its market value to Rs 5,20,484.06 crore.Despite the weekly decline, Reliance Industries retained its position as India’s most-valued company. It was followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, LIC and Hindustan Unilever.