ITC hits lifetime high; surpasses HDFC Bank in m-cap ranking

The stock hit lifetime high of Rs 280, up 4%, extending its previous days nearly 5% rally on BSE.

ITC has moved higher to its lifetime high of Rs 280, up 4% in early morning trade, extending its previous days nearly 5% rally on the BSE, after a lower-than-expected hike in excise duty on cigarettes in the Budget.

In his budget speech, finance minister Arun Jaitley proposed to hike excise duty on various lengths of cigarettes between 2.5% to 6%, as against an expectation of 8-10%. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT

"Excise duty for cigarettes hiked between 2.5%-6% is positive for ITC, VST Industries and Godfrey Philips as hike is less than expected," said Jaspreet Singh Arora, Head of Research- Institutional Equity, Systematix Shares & Stocks (I).

Meanwhile, ITC, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant has surpassed HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private-sector lender, in overall market capitalisation (m-cap) ranking.

At 09.39 am; ITC with an m-cap of Rs 337,045 crore was ahead of the HDFC Bank (m-cap of Rs 331,272 crore), BSE data show.

ITC is now at third position in overall m-ranking, just behind Reliance Industries' m-cap of Rs 338,460 crore. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is at number one rank with m-cap of Rs 426,204 crore, data show.