Mcap of seven of top-10 most valued firms added Rs 3.04 lakh crore; HDFC Bank, LIC biggest gainers

The combined market valuation of seven of the 10 most valued firms climbed Rs 3,04,477.25 crore last week, with HDFC Bank and LIC emerging as the biggest gainers amid an overall optimistic trend in equities.

Last week, the BSE benchmark rallied 2,344.41 points or 3.47 per cent. On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 303.91 points, or 0.44 per cent, to hit its new peak of 69,825.60. The index touched the highest intra-day level of 69,893.80.

HDFC Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, and Reliance Industries were among the companies that recorded additions in their market valuation.

HDFC Bank's valuation soared by Rs 74,076.15 crore to Rs 12,54,664.74 crore. The market capitalisation (mcap) of Life Insurance Corporation of India jumped by Rs 65,558.6 crore to Rs 4,89,428.32 crore at close on Friday. LIC had reclaimed the Rs 5 lakh crore-mark after the shares of the company hit a 52-week high on the bourse on Thursday.

However, at close, the company's market cap was just short of Rs 5 lakh crore mark. ICICI Bank mcap climbed Rs 45,466.21 crore to Rs 7,08,836.92 crore.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) mcap surged Rs 42,737.72 crore to Rs 13,26,918.39 crore and that of Reliance Industries Ltd soared Rs 42,454.66 crore to Rs 16,61,787.10 crore.

The valuation of State Bank of India rose by Rs 37,617.24 crore to Rs 5,47,971.17 crore and that of Infosys advanced by Rs 15,916.92 crore to Rs 6,18,663.93 crore.

However, the market valuation of Hindustan Unilever declined by Rs 9,844.79 crore to Rs 5,92,414.19 crore and that of Bharti Airtel fell Rs 8,569.98 crore to Rs 5,61,896.90 crore. Also, the mcap of ITC declined by Rs 935.48 crore to Rs 5,60,223.61 crore.

In the ranking of top-10 firms, Reliance Industries Ltd retained the title of the most valued firm, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Bharti Airtel, ITC, State Bank of India, and Life Insurance Corporation of India.