Mumbai, May 10 (IANS) Amid a range-bound trend in equities, the combined market valuation of four of the top-10 most valued firms eroded by more than Rs 1 lakh crore last week, with State Bank of India emerging as the biggest laggard.

During the week, the benchmark Sensex gained 414.69 points or 0.53 per cent, while the Nifty advanced 178.6 points or 0.74 per cent.

Among the top-10 valued companies, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) witnessed a decline in their market capitalisation. In contrast, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) posted gains in valuation.

SBI suffered the steepest erosion in market value, with its valuation falling by Rs 44,722.34 crore to Rs 9,41,107.62 crore. Bharti Airtel’s market capitalisation declined by Rs 31,167.1 crore to Rs 11,18,055.03 crore.

The valuation of TCS dropped by Rs 28,456.26 crore to Rs 8,66,477.69 crore, while Larsen & Toubro saw its market capitalisation slip by Rs 5,371.84 crore to Rs 5,46,621.21 crore.

On the gaining side, HDFC Bank added Rs 15,425.09 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 12,02,699.26 crore. Bajaj Finance saw its market capitalisation rise by Rs 11,486.89 crore to Rs 5,94,610.02 crore.

Hindustan Unilever gained Rs 8,763.97 crore in valuation to reach Rs 5,37,562.98 crore, while LIC added Rs 2,751.37 crore to take its market capitalisation to Rs 5,07,549.44 crore. ICICI Bank also registered an increase of Rs 1,694.61 crore, pushing its valuation to Rs 9,06,675.39 crore.

HDFC Bank remained the second most valued firm during the week, followed by Bharti Airtel, SBI, ICICI Bank, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and LIC.

Meanwhile, commenting on Nifty’s technical outlook, experts said that on the upside, resistance levels are placed at 24,500 and 24,600.

“On the downside, support is seen at 24,000 and 23,800. A breakdown below 23,800 could result in increased selling pressure,” an analyst stated.

–IANS

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