Top -10 cos add Rs 20k cr in a week; ONGC most-valued PSU

The country’s 10 most valued firms witnessed an increase of nearly Rs 20,000 crore in their market valuation last week with oil producer ONGC toppling power producer NTPC as the most-valued, state-run entity.

ONGC added Rs 6,951 crore last week to clinch the second place in the elite club, replacing NTPC, which lost Rs 5,483 crore to slip to the third spot.

During the week, the shares of ONGC surged 5 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), taking its market capitalisation to Rs 1,50,994 crore, while the scrip of NTPC dipped 4 per cent, dragging its valuation down to Rs 1,40,338 crore.

The coveted club of top-10 firms, which comprises four private entities and six public sector companies, gained Rs 19,763 crore during the week ended March 13, taking the total valuation to Rs 9,86,966 crore.

In the previous week, the valuation of the club stood at Rs 9,67,202 crore.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries regained its trillion-rupee turf in valuation by adding Rs 17,595 crore. The RIL scrip surged by 10 per cent during the week on BSE, taking its valuation to Rs 2,01,816 crore from Rs 1,84,221 crore in the previous week.

Amid the domestic bourses witnessing some rally last week, only two firms — NTPC and Bharti Airtel — among the top 10 most-valued firms witnessed a combined erosion of Rs 13,731 crore in their valuation.

Power equipment maker Bhel rose to the sixth spot by adding Rs 3,011 crore, while PSU trading firm MMTC dropped to the seventh slot despite adding Rs 300 crore to its market cap.

Private telecom services provider Bharti Airtel, which lost Rs 8,248 crore from its valuation last week, stood at the fourth place. Besides, IT bellwether Infosys Technologies added Rs 4,418 crore to its market cap.

Diversified conglomerate ITC added Rs 226 crore to its valuation, while the market cap of two state-run firms, SBI and NMDC, rose by Rs 775 crore and Rs 218 crore respectively.

Apart from the top-10 most-valued firms, two private sector lenders — ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank — together added Rs 5,809 crore to their valuation last week.