Mumbai, March 22 (IANS) HDFC Bank emerged as the biggest loser among India’s most-valued companies last week, with its market valuation plunging by over Rs 56,000 crore, even as the broader stock market remained largely flat with a negative bias.

India’s equity markets witnessed a cautious week, with five of the top-10 most-valued companies together losing over Rs 1 lakh crore in market capitalisation.

The decline was led by HDFC Bank, whose valuation dropped sharply by Rs 56,124.48 crore to Rs 12,01,267.28 crore.

The broader market reflected muted sentiment. The BSE Sensex slipped marginally by 30.96 points, or 0.04 per cent, while the NSE Nifty declined 36.6 points, or 0.15 per cent during the week.

Ajit Mishra, SVP (Research) at Religare Broking Ltd, said the market ended on a largely flat note with a negative undertone.

He noted that while the first three trading sessions remained positive, a sharp fall on Thursday wiped out the gains, followed by a volatile final session.

Apart from HDFC Bank, other major laggards included Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and ICICI Bank.

Hindustan Unilever’s market valuation fell by Rs 18,009.62 crore to Rs 4,89,631.32 crore, while Bajaj Finance lost Rs 15,338.42 crore to Rs 5,16,715.12 crore.

TCS saw its valuation decline by Rs 7,127.63 crore to Rs 8,64,940 crore, and ICICI Bank’s mcap dipped by Rs 6,171.72 crore to Rs 8,91,673.06 crore.

Overall, the combined erosion in market value of these five companies stood at Rs 1,02,771.87 crore.

On the other hand, some heavyweight firms managed to post gains despite the weak trend. Bharti Airtel saw a strong rise of Rs 24,462.03 crore, pushing its market capitalisation to Rs 10,52,893.75 crore.

State Bank of India added Rs 10,707.52 crore to reach Rs 9,76,968.57 crore in valuation. Infosys and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) also posted modest gains, with their market capitalisations rising to Rs 5,08,789.37 crore and Rs 4,91,610.45 crore, respectively.

--IANS

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