Market valuation of nine of top-10 most valued firms declines by Rs 2.18 lakh cr

By Daily Excelsior - NEW DELHI, Mar 1: The combined market valuation of nine of the top-10 most valued firms eroded by Rs 2,18,902.09 crore last week, with Bharti Airtel taking the biggest hit in line with a bearish trend in equities. Last week, the BSE benchmark tanked 1,527.52 points or 1.84 per cent. “Equity markets ended the week under notable pressure as persistent geopolitical tensions and weakness in technology stocks weighed on sentiment,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said. From the top-10 pack, Hindustan Unilever emerged as the only gainer. The market valuation of Bharti Airtel tumbled Rs 55,852.12 crore to Rs 10,71,853.25 crore. HDFC Bank’s valuation eroded by Rs 37,580.1 crore to Rs 13,65,659.38 crore. The market valuation of Reliance Industries dropped by Rs 34,846.12 crore to Rs 18,86,832.66 crore, and that of Bajaj Finance tanked by Rs 20,316.41 crore to Rs 6,20,070.59 crore. Tata Consultancy Services’ market capitalisation (mcap) slumped Rs 18,180.89 crore to Rs 9,53,872.59 crore. The valuation of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) dived Rs 14,990.24 crore to Rs 5,37,213.68 crore, and that of Larsen & Toubro fell by Rs 13,714.85 crore to Rs 5,88,837.39 crore. The mcap of State Bank of India declined by Rs 13,061.33 crore to Rs 11,09,520.23 crore. The valuation of ICICI Bank dipped by Rs 10,360.03 crore to Rs 9,86,986.64 crore. However, Hindustan Unilever added Rs 5,462.81 crore, taking its mcap to Rs 5,49,393.18 crore. Reliance Industries retained the title of the most valued firm, followed by HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and LIC. (PTI)