TCS surpasses Reliance Industries to become most valued firm on BSE

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Monday surpassed energy-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries (RIL) yet again to become the most valued firm by market capitalisation on the BSE.

At the close of trade, the market capitalisation (mcap) of TCS was at Rs 12,34,609.62 crore, which is Rs 4,948.30 crore higher than that of RIL’s Rs 12,29,661.32 crore.

Shares of Reliance Industries cracked 5.36 per cent to Rs 1,939.70 after its financial results for the quarter ended December 31. On the other hand, TCS closed just 0.40 per cent down at Rs 3,290. Earlier in March 2020, Tata Consultancy Services had raced past RIL to become most-valued domestic firm by m-cap.

A sell-off in the domestic equity market during the past three trading sessions has pulled down RIL’s market valuation sharply.

RIL shares fell for the third consecutive day on Monday, falling 5.45 per cent since January 21. The company last week reported a better-than-expected 12% rise in December quarter net profit at Rs 13,101 crore.

Commenting on Q3 results, Edelweiss Securities said, “Reliance Industries’ (RIL) Q3FY21 EBITDA of Rs 21,500 crore (down 4 per cent YoY) came in line with our estimate. PAT of Rs 13,100 crore (up 13% YoY) beat estimate but was entirely driven by investment income and near-zero tax liability. O2C & retail missed expectations, but RJio beat forecasts. While recovery is underway, it is mixed.” The brokerage has ‘Hold’ rating on Reliance with a price target of Rs 2,105.

RIL and TCS have in the past also competed with each other for the number one position in terms of market capitalisation. At the close of trade on Wednesday, the market capitalisation chart was topped by TCS followed by RIL, HDFC Bank, HUL and Infosys. The m-cap figure of companies changes daily with the movement in their stock prices.

On the other hand, the market valuation of TCS was at Rs 12.19 lakh crore on the NSE, while RIL’s market value was hovering at Rs 12.27 lakh crore.