Indian equity markets ended the week on a cautious note, extending their recent corrective phase as elevated crude oil prices, rising global bond yields and persistent geopolitical uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment. According to Ajit Mishra SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, the BSE benchmark Sensex declined 468.42 points, or 0.60 per cent, and the NSE Nifty dipped 114 points, or 0.46 per cent during the week. As per The Times of India, the combined market valuation of four of the top-10 most valued firms eroded by ₹87,960.29 crore last week, with Bharti Airtel taking the biggest hit amid the bearish trend in equities. On Friday, August 21, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 3.11 points to close at 77,540.83, while the NSE Nifty gained 20.15 points, or 0.08 per cent, to close at 24,252.00.
The combined market valuation of four of the top-10 most valued firms eroded by ₹87,960.29 crore last week. Bharti Airtel took the biggest hit with its valuation dropping ₹28,052.96 crore to ₹12,14,963.15 crore, followed by Tata Consultancy Services which faced an erosion of ₹22,070.34 crore, bringing its valuation to ₹8,31,436.51 crore. The State Bank of India declined ₹20,861.2 crore to ₹9,64,968.76 crore, while Hindustan Unilever fell ₹16,975.79 crore to ₹4,73,912.56 crore. According to The Times of India, these declines were in-tandem with the bearish trend in equities that weighed on investor sentiment, with the decline in valuations coming as benchmark indices ended the week lower.
Despite the overall decline, several companies managed to gain market capitalization. Life Insurance Corporation of India jumped ₹12,650 crore to ₹5,35,980.31 crore, while Reliance Industries surged ₹8,119.53 crore to ₹17,78,175.59 crore and remained the most valued firm. Larsen & Toubro climbed ₹3,487.83 crore to ₹5,62,460.94 crore, and Bajaj Finance edged higher by ₹3,424.28 crore to ₹6,80,621.62 crore. ICICI Bank added ₹752.47 crore taking its market cap to ₹10,18,330.45 crore, and HDFC Bank went up ₹356.95 crore to ₹11,21,159.05 crore. As per The Times of India, these gains provided some relief in an otherwise challenging market environment, with the Nifty Bank index closing 266.05 points or 0.46 per cent up at 57,761.95.
The market valuation of Reliance Industries surged ₹8,119.53 crore to ₹17,78,175.59 crore and remained the most valued firm, followed by Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, LIC and Hindustan Unilever. According to the latest data from The Times of India, LIC jumped ₹12,650 crore to ₹5,35,980.31 crore, while Reliance Industries climbed ₹8,119.53 crore to ₹17,78,175.59 crore, demonstrating the mixed performance across different sectors. The market downturn affected the top-10 most valued firms, with Bharti Airtel experiencing the largest decline among the major companies, as reported by The Times of India.
