Top-7 firms gain Rs 79,000 cr in m-cap

Seven of the top 10 BSE Sensex companies added more than Rs 79,000 crore to their market capitalisation (m-cap) last week, led by ITC which single- handedly gained as much as Rs 62,000 crore in value.

The seven companies witnessed whopping gains of Rs 79,283 crore in their combined valuations amid a flat market which saw the BSE 30-scrip Sensex gaining 0.24% during March 23 to March 30.

Three companies - leading software services exporter TCS, state-run NTPC and country's largest lender State Bank of India - defied the broader market trend and witnessed erosion in their m-cap totalling to Rs 12,580 crore.

During last week, TCS' m-cap eroded by Rs 3,229 crore to Rs 2,28,574 crore, while NTPC's market value slipped by Rs 7,297 crore and SBI's m-cap fell by Rs 2,054 crore.

With the market witnessing high volatility last week, the country's most valued firm, Reliance Industries, added Rs 8,062 crore in its market value and state-run oil producer ONGC gained Rs 198 crore in its market value to Rs 2,28,688 crore.

The Mukesh Ambani-led firm retained its numero-uno position with Rs 2,45,018 crore market cap on Friday, against Rs 2,36,956 crore on March 23.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex gained 42.46 points in the last trading week of fiscal year 2012 to end at 17,404.20. The barometer Sensex was quoted at 17,361.74 points on March 23.

There was no change in the rankings of the top slot as market leader RIL retained the number one position, while state-owned ONGC was the second most valued company, followed TCS. State-owned Coal India was the fourth most valued firm, followed by ITC, Infosys, NTPC, SBI, Bharti and HDFC Bank.

Coal India added Rs 5,336 crore to its market worth, Infosys gained Rs 126 crore, Bharti Airtel market worth swelled by Rs 582 crore and HDFC Bank's m-cap jumped by Rs 3,059 crore.