Eight of India’s top 10 firms add over INR 2 lakh crore in value last week

MUMBAI — India’s equity markets staged a forceful comeback this week, lifting the cumulative market capitalisation of eight of the country’s ten most-valued companies by INR 2,05,185.08 crore. 

Even though two major players ended the day on a lower note, the rebound was driven by a general increase in investor sentiment, which was aided by firm global cues, renewed institutional buying, and easing volatility.

The enhanced risk appetite was reflected in the benchmark indices.

The recent corrective phase came to an end, and the week concluded on a solid note as the NSE Nifty rose 417.75 points (1.64 per cent) and the BSE Sensex advanced 1,346.50 points (1.62 per cent). Meanwhile, the two industries that contributed most to the creation of wealth were telecom and energy.

With a dramatic increase of INR 55,652.54 crore, Bharti Airtel spearheaded the rally and increased its valuation to INR 11,96,700.84 crore. The next most valuable company in the nation was Reliance Industries, whose market capitalisation increased by INR 54,941.84 crore to INR 20,55,379.61 crore.

Students majoring in banking and IT also took part in the uprising. While Infosys gained INR 10,448.32 crore to reach INRs 6,24,198.80 crore, Tata Consultancy Services added INR 40,757.75 crore, increasing its valuation to INR 11,23,416.17 crore.

Among lenders, the State Bank of India (SBI) added INR 10,522.9 crore to reach INR 8,92,923.79 crore, HDFC Bank increased by INR 9,149.13 crore to INR 15,20,524.34 crore, and ICICI Bank increased by INR 20,834.35 crore to INR 9,80,374.43 crore.

Hindustan Unilever, one of the top performers, saw a slight increase of INR 2,878.25 crore, bringing its market capitalisation to INR 5,70,187.06 crore.

But the week wasn't entirely good as the two companies from the top 10 experienced erosion. Bajaj Finance, which lost INR 30,147.94 crore, fell to INR 6,33,573.38 crore, and Life Insurance Corporation of India, which lost INR 9,266.12 crore, caused its valuation to fall to INR 5,75,100.42 crore.

Reliance, HDFC Bank, and Bharti Airtel continue to lead India's valuation hierarchy, and the overall weekly gain highlights that blue-chip counters continue to anchor the market's recovery despite the mixed performance at the bottom of the list.