Indian ADRs shed $12.6bn in a month

Indian companies trading on the American bourses witnessed a value erosion of $12.6 billion this month, with IT icons-- Wipro and Infosys Technologies accounting for half of the total losses.

For the month ended January 31, Indian entities listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq--together lost $12.6 billion from their total market capitalisation, with Wipro and Infosys contributing $6.05 billion to the total loss.

Wipro's valuation plunged by $3.96 billion to $28.9 billion, while that of Infosys tumbled by $2.09 billion to $29.63 billion.

Out of the 16 companies listed on the bourses as American Depository Receipts (ADRs), five of the them including Mahindra Satyam (earlier known as Satyam Computer Services) saw a marginal gain of USD 135 million to its total market capitalisation.

ADRs are bought and sold in American markets just like stocks and are issued in by a bank or a brokerage firm.

Meanwhile, copper producer Sterlite Industries shed its valuation by $1.92 billion to $13.4 billion

Private sector lenders--HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank together lost $3.02 billion to their combined market cap.

Market capitalisation of HDFC Bank fell by $1.74 billion to $17.95 billion, whereas ICICI Bank's valuation declined by $1.28 billion to $19.65 billion.

Apart from Wipro, Infosys, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, auto maker Tata Motors too witnessed a significant decline in its valuation.

Tata Motors' market capitalisation went down by $1.02 billion to a total of $6.58 billion.

During the month, Mahindra Satyam's market capitalisation increased by $121 million to $3.3 billion.

While internet firms--Sify Technologies and Reddif.Com and BPO companies-- WNS Holdings and EXLService managed to end in the positive territory.

Outsourcing firm Genpact and telecom major Tata Communications' market capitalisation declined by $257 million and $184 million, respectively.

Among other ADR losers are --- software company Patni Computer Systems, pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories and telecom major Mahanagar Telephone Nigam whose valuation slipped in the range of $31 million to $257 million.

On Friday, the US markets ended in the red, with Dow Jones Industrial Average settling down by 53.13 points at 10,067.33 and S&P 500 fell by 10.66 points to 1,073.87. Besides, tech heavy Nasdaq was down 31.65 points at 2,147.35.