HDFC Bank pips TCS to be second most valuable firm

MUMBAI: HDFC Bank on Thursday became the second most valuable company by market capitalisation, overtaking IT behemoth TCS.

At the close of trade, HDFC Bank, which recently completed the merger of its mortgage financier parent HDFC into itself, commanded a market capitalisation (mcap) of Rs 12,72,718.60 crore, which was Rs 5,826.95 crore more than TCS’ Rs 12,66,891.65 crore valuation on the BSE.

Shares of HDFC Bank ended at Rs 1,688.50 apiece, up 0.22 per cent on the BSE. During the day, it climbed 0.36 per cent to Rs 1,690.95. However, shares of TCS dipped 0.25 per cent to end at Rs 3,462.35 each. During the day, it fell 1 per cent to Rs 3,436.

HDFC, the parent of HDFC Bank, merged into the lender on July 1. The $40 billion merger, the largest such deal in the Indian corporate history, was driven by a changing regulatory landscape, which limited the advantages for HDFC continuing as a non-bank lending entity.

Reliance Industries is the country’s most valued firm with a market valuation of Rs 17,72,455.70 crore, followed by HDFC Bank, TCS, ICICI Bank (Rs 6,96,538.85 crore) and Hindustan Unilever (Rs 6,34,941.79 crore) in the top five order.

HDFC Bank is also the country’s most valuable bank by mcap followed by ICICI Bank, which commanded a market valuation of Rs 6,96,538.85 crore, and State Bank of India (Rs 5,44,356.70 crore)

Meanwhile, extending winning momentum to the sixth day, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty scaled fresh record high levels on Thursday, driven by unabated foreign capital inflows and intense buying in banking and FMCG stocks.

A recovery in the rupee added to the momentum, forex traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 474.46 points or 0.71 per cent to settle at its fresh all-time closing high of 67,571.90.

The benchmark recovered all its early lost ground during the afternoon trade. During the day, it rallied 521.73 points or 0.77 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 67,619.17.

The NSE Nifty is on the verge of breaching the psychologically crucial 20,000 mark and closed a few points shy of the level.

Rising for the sixth straight session, the NSE flagship climbed 146 points or 0.74 per cent to end at its record closing high of 19,979.15. During the session, it soared 158.7 points or 0.80 per cent to reach its fresh record high of 19,991.85.

In the last six sessions, the BSE benchmark has jumped 2,178 points or 3.33 per cent, and the Nifty rallied 594.85 points or 3.06 per cent.

“Unlocking of value by heavyweights (like RIL & ITC) is apprising the main indices. The anticipation of good Q1 results from Banks, is providing an extra boost to drive to new highs. Mixed cues from global peers are not disturbing the mood of the domestic market as FIIs inflows stay put to the prospects of the Indian economy,” said Vinod Nair, head, research, Geojit Financial Services.

ITC was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising nearly 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever and JSW Steel.

On the other hand, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro were the laggards.

NSE and BSE conducted a special pre-open session for Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday on account of the demerger of its financial services business Reliance Strategic Investments Ltd.

Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL), the demerged financial services unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, was valued at about $21 billion, ahead of Adani group firms, Coal India and Indian Oil (IOC).

A total of 1,748 stocks advanced while 1,632 declined and 132 remained unchanged on BSE.