Nine most-valued firms lost Rs 4.74 lakh crore in combined market valuation; RIL, HDFC Bank biggest losers

Nine most valued firms together lost a massive Rs 4.74 lakh crore in market valuation last week with Reliance Industries (RIL) and HDFC Bank taking the biggest hit in line with fall in broader markets. 

Markets faced heavy drubbing last week amid worsening tensions in the Middle East and foreign fund outflows. In a holiday-shortened week, the BSE benchmark plummeted 3,883.4 points, or 4.53 percent. 

The BSE Sensex dropped about 1,600 points from day’s high, while the NSE Nifty looked poised to test the sub-25,000 level in a brisk selling on October 4 afternoon amid fears Israel was planning a significant retaliation following Iran’s missile attacks, widening the scope of the Middle East war.  

Sharp foreign outflows in October due to unattractive valuations and concerns over Brent crude oil prices that topped $78 a barrel level hurt sentiment, as investors chose to take some profit off the table amid geopolitical uncertainty. 

There are fears that foreign investors are dumping Indian equities to invest in battered Chinese mainland market, given its reasonable valuations, and improved earnings outlook following stimulus measures announced by Chinese authorities. In contrast, Indian market valuations are deemed rich.

At present, Nifty is trading at 21.5 times its one-year forward earnings, which is above its historical average of 20.4 times. Against this, the MSCI China gauge is still trading at 10.8 times forward earnings, below its five-year average of 11.7 times.

The valuation of Reliance Industries took a heavy beating and declined by Rs 1,88,479.36 crore to Rs 18,76,718.24 crore. 

The country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank saw its market valuation erode by Rs 72,919.58 crore to Rs 12,64,267.35 crore. 

Telecom major Bharti Airtel saw its valuation plunge by Rs 53,800.31 crore to Rs 9,34,104.32 crore.  

Another significant private lender, ICICI Bank recorded a Rs 47,461.13 crore drop in valuation to Rs 8,73,059.59 crore. 

The country’s largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) posted a Rs 33,490.86 crore slump in valuation to Rs 6,14,125.65 crore. 

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) market capitalisation (mcap) tanked Rs 27,525.46 crore to Rs 6,69,363.31 crore.  

Market capitalisation (mcap) of ITC dropped Rs 24,139.66 crore to Rs 6,29,695.06 crore.  

IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recorded Rs 21,690.43 crore drop taking its overall valuation to Rs 15,37,361.57 crore. 

The country’s largest public sector lender, State Bank of India’s valuation went lower by Rs 5,399.39 crore to Rs 7,10,934.59 crore. 

Infosys was the lone gainer frm the Top-10 pack with an addition of Rs 4,629.64 crore in its m-cap taking the total tally to Rs 7,96,527.08 crore. 

Reliance Industries retained the title of the most-valued firm, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Infosys, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and LIC.