Six of India’s top-10 most valued companies together lost nearly ₹65,000 crore in market capitalisation during a holiday-shortened trading week, mirroring broader weakness in the equity markets. Among the laggards, Bharti Airtel emerged as the biggest loser.

Benchmark indices ended the week in the red, with the BSE Sensex slipping 263.67 points (0.35%) and the NSE Nifty falling 106.5 points (0.46%). The decline marked the sixth straight week of losses, highlighting sustained volatility in the market.

According to Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research at Religare Broking Ltd, sentiment remained fragile due to a mix of global and domestic factors.

Escalating tensions between the US and Iran, along with a spike in crude oil prices, triggered selling pressure at the start of the week.

Markets, however, saw some recovery mid-week as geopolitical concerns eased and oil prices softened. Despite this, volatility persisted amid foreign institutional investor outflows, a weakening rupee, and ongoing inflation worries.

Bharti Airtel saw the steepest drop in valuation, shedding ₹29,993.07 crore to ₹10.20 lakh crore. ICICI Bank followed, with its market cap declining by ₹12,845.81 crore to ₹8.70 lakh crore.

Bajaj Finance lost ₹11,169.36 crore, while HDFC Bank’s valuation fell by ₹7,822.79 crore. Hindustan Unilever and State Bank of India also recorded declines, though comparatively smaller.

On the other hand, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) bucked the trend, adding ₹22,359.78 crore to its market valuation. Reliance Industries also posted gains, rising by ₹3,518.45 crore.