Dalal Street recap: Six of top-10 firms lose nearly Rs 65,000 crore in mcap; Bharti Airtel leads decline

Stock market ended the holiday-shortened week in red, dragging down the combined valuation of six of India’s ten most valued companies by Rs 64,734.46 crore, with Bharti Airtel emerging as the biggest loser. The broader market reflected the subdued sentiment, as the BSE Sensex slipped 263.67 points, or 0.35 per cent, while the NSE Nifty declined 106.5 points, or 0.46 per cent over the week."Markets ended lower for the sixth consecutive week, declining by nearly half a per cent, reflecting heightened volatility driven by a mix of global and domestic uncertainties."The holiday-shortened week began on a weak note as escalating US-Iran tensions and a sharp rise in crude oil prices weighed on sentiment, triggering broad-based selling pressure," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.He noted that sentiment improved briefly during the week. "However, markets staged a mid-week recovery supported by easing geopolitical concerns and softer oil prices," he added."Despite this rebound, volatility remained elevated due to fluctuating global cues, continued foreign institutional outflows, rupee weakness, and inflation concerns," Mishra said.Among the major decliners, Bharti Airtel saw its valuation fall by Rs 29,993.07 crore to Rs 10,20,420.26 crore. ICICI Bank followed with a drop of Rs 12,845.81 crore, taking its market capitalisation to Rs 8,70,705.49 crore.Bajaj Finance shed Rs 11,169.36 crore, ending at Rs 5,14,226.12 crore. HDFC Bank also saw its valuation decline by Rs 7,822.79 crore to Rs 11,56,195.90 crore, while Hindustan Unilever lost Rs 2,349.59 crore to Rs 4,85,190.60 crore.The market capitalisation of State Bank of India registered a comparatively smaller fall of Rs 553.84 crore, settling at Rs 9,41,015.31 crore.In contrast, gains in select heavyweights offered some support. Tata Consultancy Services added Rs 22,359.78 crore to reach Rs 8,87,028.43 crore, while Infosys rose by Rs 12,374.76 crore to Rs 5,27,409.43 crore. Larsen & Toubro advanced by Rs 6,575.43 crore to Rs 4,97,111.62 crore.Reliance Industries also posted a gain of Rs 3,518.45 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 18,28,034.07 crore, and retained its position as the country’s most valued company. It continued to be followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever.