Seven of India's top 10 firms lost ₹1.54 lakh crore in market cap last week. Reliance dropped ₹46,078 crore, HDFC Bank ₹33,333 crore. SBI and L&T gained. The PSU vs. private bank split is the key signal for traders.
The combined market valuation of seven of the top 10 most valued Indian companies fell by ₹1.54 lakh crore last week, with Reliance Industries taking the largest single hit. The BSE Sensex dropped 639.61 points (0.84%) and the NSE Nifty declined 171.55 points (0.72%) in a holiday-shortened trading week.
Reliance Industries saw its market capitalisation drop by ₹46,078.3 crore to ₹17,87,039.40 crore, the steepest decline among the top 10. HDFC Bank followed with a ₹33,333.06 crore erosion to ₹11,46,641.84 crore. Bharti Airtel lost ₹25,408.96 crore, settling at ₹11,14,886.53 crore, while TCS fell ₹22,920.58 crore to ₹8,15,480.75 crore.
Hindustan Unilever shed ₹13,169.46 crore to ₹5,04,210.54 crore. Bajaj Finance declined ₹7,253.24 crore to ₹5,63,262.33 crore, and ICICI Bank dipped ₹6,311.41 crore to ₹9,00,589.91 crore.
Larsen & Toubro added ₹20,608.43 crore to reach ₹5,60,836.64 crore. State Bank of India rose ₹13,753.62 crore to ₹8,89,831.54 crore, and LIC gained ₹6,040.37 crore to ₹5,20,484.06 crore.
The ₹46,078 crore drop in Reliance Industries is the largest absolute decline in the top 10. The read-through is that the energy-to-telecom conglomerate remains the most valuation-sensitive stock in the index. A single-week move of this magnitude in Reliance alone accounts for nearly 30% of the total top-10 erosion. Traders tracking the Nifty Energy or Nifty Telecom indices should note that Reliance and Bharti Airtel together lost ₹71,487 crore in market cap, suggesting sector-wide pressure rather than company-specific news.
HDFC Bank lost ₹33,333 crore, ICICI Bank lost ₹6,311 crore, and Bajaj Finance lost ₹7,253 crore. Combined, the three financials shed ₹46,897 crore, roughly matching Reliance's drop alone. The divergence is notable: State Bank of India gained ₹13,753 crore while private-sector peers fell. This split suggests a rotation toward PSU banks rather than a uniform financial-sector selloff. The mechanism is likely valuation compression in high-P/B private banks versus value rotation into PSU names.
HUL lost ₹13,169 crore, bringing its market cap to ₹5,04,210 crore. The Alpha Score for UL (Unilever PLC) is 51/100 (Mixed), and HDB (HDFC Bank) scores 38/100 (Mixed). For IBN (ICICI Bank), the Alpha Score is 57/100 (Moderate). These scores indicate no strong directional signal from proprietary models, consistent with a broad market pullback rather than stock-specific catalysts.
Reliance Industries remains the most valued domestic firm at ₹17.87 lakh crore, followed by HDFC Bank at ₹11.47 lakh crore, Bharti Airtel at ₹11.15 lakh crore, ICICI Bank at ₹9.01 lakh crore, and State Bank of India at ₹8.90 lakh crore. The ranking did not change despite the week's moves.
| Rank | Company | Market Cap (₹ Cr) | Weekly Change (₹ Cr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reliance Industries | 17,87,039.40 | -46,078.30 |
| 2 | HDFC Bank | 11,46,641.84 | -33,333.06 |
| 3 | Bharti Airtel | 11,14,886.53 | -25,408.96 |
| 4 | ICICI Bank | 9,00,589.91 | -6,311.41 |
| 5 | State Bank of India | 8,89,831.54 | +13,753.62 |
| 6 | TCS | 8,15,480.75 | -22,920.58 |
| 7 | Bajaj Finance | 5,63,262.33 | -7,253.24 |
| 8 | Larsen & Toubro | 5,60,836.64 | +20,608.43 |
| 9 | LIC | 5,20,484.06 | +6,040.37 |
| 10 | Hindustan Unilever | 5,04,210.54 | -13,169.46 |
A confirmation of the rotation thesis would be continued outperformance of SBI and L&T relative to private-sector peers in the coming weeks. A weakening signal would be if the Sensex recovers and the laggards (Reliance, HDFC Bank, TCS) fail to participate, suggesting the selloff was not just index-driven but stock-specific.
For traders building watchlists, the key question is whether the ₹1.54 lakh crore erosion is a one-week anomaly or the start of a broader de-rating. The BSE Sensex at -0.84% for the week is a modest decline; the top-10 concentration means a few large-cap moves can distort the headline. The Nifty 50 at -0.72% confirms the move was broad but not extreme.
The week's data shows a divergent market where three stocks (SBI, L&T, LIC) gained while seven lost. The Reliance and HDFC Bank drops alone account for over half the total erosion. The PSU vs. private split in financials is the most actionable signal. Watch for follow-through in the next session: if SBI holds its gains while HDFC Bank stabilises, the rotation thesis gains credibility. If the laggards bounce first, the selloff was likely noise in a thin trading week.
For more context on sector rotations and market cap moves, see stock market analysis and Reliance, Trent Lead 20 Stocks Going Ex-Date.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.