Nine of top-10 firms add Rs 2.51 lakh crore in market cap; Bajaj Finance leads on strong earnings

Nine of the 10 most valuable Indian companies added a combined Rs 2.51 lakh crore to their market capitalisation last week, as the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty posted strong gains. Bajaj Finance was the biggest winner, adding Rs 80,345.97 crore to its valuation after reporting a sharp rise in quarterly profit.

The BSE Sensex climbed 2,034.87 points, or 2.67%, during the week, while the NSE Nifty rose 616.15 points, or 2.59%, according to data from multiple exchanges.

“Markets staged a strong rebound during the week, snapping their recent losing streak as easing crude oil prices, improving geopolitical sentiment, encouraging Q1 FY27 earnings, and renewed foreign institutional investor (FII) buying lifted risk appetite,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd, told PTI.

The nine gainers were Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Hindustan Unilever was the only company among the top 10 to end the week with a lower valuation, losing Rs 10,326.46 crore.

**Bajaj Finance surges on earnings**

Bajaj Finance’s market capitalisation rose to Rs 7,10,817.51 crore after its shares closed more than 8% higher on Friday. The non-banking financial company reported a 28% year-on-year rise in consolidated profit after tax for the June quarter of FY27, according to the sources.

Among other large gainers, Bharti Airtel added Rs 44,959.5 crore to reach Rs 12,30,005.63 crore. TCS gained Rs 40,414.03 crore to Rs 8,55,894.78 crore, while Reliance Industries added Rs 39,447.35 crore to remain the country’s most valued firm at Rs 17,69,108.79 crore.

Larsen & Toubro’s valuation rose Rs 21,096.8 crore to Rs 5,41,844.69 crore, and State Bank of India added Rs 10,845.97 crore to Rs 9,47,799.81 crore. HDFC Bank’s market cap advanced Rs 8,164.73 crore to Rs 11,52,150.63 crore, LIC went up Rs 4,427.49 crore to Rs 5,37,435.05 crore, and ICICI Bank added Rs 1,660.37 crore to end at Rs 10,29,878.30 crore.

Reliance Industries remained the most valued company, followed by Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, LIC, and Hindustan Unilever.

**Monthly gains, IT drag, and FII flows**

Friday’s gains helped the benchmark indices post a second consecutive monthly advance for the first time this year, according to a report by India Today. The Sensex rose about 2.1% in July, while the Nifty gained 2.2%, building on gains of 2.3% and 1.4% respectively in June.

The rally was driven by strong earnings from Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra, which lifted financial and auto stocks, the report said. However, information technology shares dragged, with the Nifty IT index declining 1.56% on Friday. TCS fell 2.73%, Infosys slipped 2.26%, and HCLTech shed 0.50%.

Despite the Friday pullback, the Nifty IT index rallied 16.8% in July, its strongest monthly performance in six years, the report added. The surge was driven by a global rotation into Indian technology stocks as investors reduced exposure to AI-heavy markets in South Korea and Taiwan.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who had sold nearly $29.3 billion worth of Indian equities in the first six months of the year, turned net buyers in July, investing around $1.6 billion, according to the India Today report. Analysts cited the return of overseas investors, resilient domestic earnings, and measures by the Reserve Bank of India to stabilise the rupee as factors improving sentiment.

The rupee strengthened on Friday, ending at 95.38 against the US dollar, up 0.3% on the day and marking its strongest weekly gain since March, the report said. However, the currency declined around 0.7% for July as higher crude oil prices, fuelled by renewed hostilities in the Middle East, weighed on sentiment. Brent crude traded around $88.16 a barrel on Friday, taking its monthly gain to about 21%.

Gaurav Didwania, Fund Manager and Partner at Qode, a Sebi-registered PMS firm, told India Today that the shift from an AI-driven frenzy to more broad-based earnings growth in India has attracted global investors, adding another layer of strength to domestic markets. He added that if crude oil prices stabilise and tensions in the Middle East ease, India could become an even more attractive investment destination.