Mumbai, May 17 (IANS) The combined market valuation of nine of the country’s top-10 most valued companies declined by Rs 3.12 lakh crore last week amid a sharp sell-off in domestic equities triggered by rising geopolitical tensions, weakness in the rupee, and surging crude oil prices.

The broader market sentiment remained under pressure as the 30-share Sensex plunged 2,090.2 points, or 2.7 per cent, during the week, while the Nifty dropped 532.65 points, or 2.2 per cent.

Among the top-10 valued firms, Bharti Airtel was the only company that registered gains in market valuation during the week. The telecom major added Rs 42,470.13 crore to take its valuation to Rs 11,60,525.16 crore.

Among the laggards, the valuation of State Bank of India fell by Rs 52,245.3 crore to Rs 8,88,862.32 crore.

The market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services declined by Rs 47,415.04 crore to Rs 8,19,062.65 crore, while Bajaj Finance saw its valuation drop by Rs 27,892.28 crore to Rs 5,66,717.74 crore.

The market valuation of HDFC Bank slipped by Rs 20,630.01 crore to Rs 11,82,069.25 crore. Similarly, ICICI Bank witnessed a decline of Rs 14,290 crore in its market capitalisation, which stood at Rs 8,92,385.39 crore at the end of the week.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro lost Rs 9,078.87 crore in valuation to Rs 5,37,542.34 crore, while Hindustan Unilever saw its market capitalisation fall by Rs 3,970.8 crore to Rs 5,33,592.18 crore.

The valuation of Life Insurance Corporation of India also declined by Rs 2,182.12 crore to Rs 5,05,367.32 crore.

Despite the weekly correction, HDFC Bank remained among the country’s most valued firms, followed by Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, and LIC.

Meanwhile, commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said on the upside, immediate resistance levels are placed at 24,000 and 24,250.

“On the downside, support is seen at 23,250 and 23,000. A breakdown below the 23,000 mark could trigger further selling pressure in the near term,” an analyst stated.

–IANS

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