Mcap of top-10 firms tumbles by Rs 4.48 lakh crore; State Bank, HDFC Bank biggest laggards

New Delhi: The combined market valuation of the top-10 domestic firms eroded sharply by Rs 4.48 lakh crore last week, in tandem with a steep decline in equities, with banking majors State Bank of India and HDFC Bank taking the biggest hit.

Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex tanked 4,354.98 points or 5.51 per cent, and the NSE Nifty dropped 1,299.35 points or 5.31 per cent as surging crude prices raised concerns over inflationary pressures and global economic stability amid the widening conflict in West Asia.

"The primary driver behind the market weakness was the sustained rise in crude oil prices following the escalating conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel. Brent crude surged past USD 101 per barrel, raising concerns over India’s fiscal position and inflation outlook," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

The market valuation of State Bank of India tumbled Rs 89,306.22 crore to Rs 9,66,261.05 crore.

HDFC Bank faced an erosion of Rs 61,715.32 crore to Rs 12,57,391.76 crore.

The valuation of Bajaj Finance dived Rs 59,082.49 crore to Rs 5,32,053.54 crore and that of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) tanked Rs 53,312.52 crore to Rs 8,72,067.63 crore.

The market capitalisation (mcap) of ICICI Bank dropped by Rs 42,205.04 crore to Rs 8,97,844.78 crore and that of Bharti Airtel plunged Rs 38,688.78 crore to Rs 10,28,431.72 crore.

Reliance Industries' valuation fell by Rs 33,289.88 crore to Rs 18,68,293.17 crore.

The mcap of LIC diminished by Rs 31,245.49 crore to Rs 4,88,985.57 crore and that of Infosys declined by Rs 24,230.96 crore to Rs 5,06,315.58 crore.

Hindustan Unilever's mcap dipped by Rs 15,401.57 crore to Rs 5,07,640.94 crore.

Reliance Industries remained the most valued domestic firm, followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and LIC.