Last week Indian stock market was through a financial roller coaster. The business community was shaken by the escalation of political tensions between India and Pakistan. The Sensex dipped, falling by 1,047.52 points—roughly 1.30% lower—taking some of the nation’s largest companies with it.
Big Names, Bigger Losses
Picture yourself waking up and finding out that eight of the top ten most valuable companies in the nation collectively lost ₹1.60 lakh crore in market cap. That is precisely what happened. Powerhouses such as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, TCS, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finance, and ITC were all under pressure. It was a week full of anxious investors and declining share prices.
Reliance Tops the Loss Chart
The largest victim was the dominant Indian company, Reliance Industries. Marketed value dips from ₹18.64 lakh crore to a jaw-dropping ₹59,799.34 crore. It was the largest decline among all firms, indicating just how sensitive the markets are to geopolitical tensions.
Banking Giants and Tech Titans Stumble Too
ICICI Bank was not lagging too far behind. Its price tag came down to ₹30,185.36 crore, bringing the total valuation to ₹9.90 Lakh crores. The HDFC Bank’s numbers also declined by ₹27,062.52 crore, and it ended the week at ₹14.46 lakh crore. SBI, India’s biggest public sector bank, saw a decline of ₹18,429.34 crore to ₹6.95 lakh crore.
Not even the tech sector was exempt. ₹12.45 lakh crore — Value of IT giant TCS went down to (Decrease in ₹578.89 crore). Value of telecom colossus Bharti Airtel fell by ₹2,138.29 crore to ₹10.53 lakh cr.
FMCG and Finance Take a Hit
Consumer goods behemoth ITC’s market cap declined by ₹8,321.89 crores and ended the week at ₹5.29 lakh crore. Bajaj Finance witnessed its market capitalization decrease by ₹13,798.85 crore, reaching a stop at ₹5.36 lakh crore, which is a drop.
A Silver Lining: Infosys and HUL Shine
All was not gloomy, however. One of the two firms that successfully navigated the Red Sea. By the end, the market capitalisation of Infosys grew to ₹415.33 crore at ₹6.26 lakh crore.
Hindustan Unilever Limited added ₹2,537.56 crore to its Market Capitalisation, putting on a sizeable face value of @5.48 Lakh Crores.
During a period of chaos, Reliance was still way up there in first, followed by HDFC Bank, TCS and others.
(Note: This is not an investment tip. Stock markets involve risks. Always consult experts before investing.)