Further Decline In Itc Scrip Likely: Analysts
The week saw a countrywide raid being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate in the offices of the ITC Ltd.
Top officials and former officials of the company were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of Fera violations.
The scrip lost about Rs 18 that day on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It closed at Rs 303 on the bourse. The volumes traded in the scrip were massive that day. While the NSE did not see any trading on account of technical hitches, the BSE witnessed trading volumes in ITC close to Rs 116.94 crore.
The stock dropped further the next day, October 31, when two former ITC chairmen K L Chugh and J N Sapru were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate
The stock closed at Rs 301.10 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
That day too massive volumes were traded on all the major bourses.
The trading volumes were to the tune of Rs 99.69 crore, while the National Stock Exchange saw trading volumes of a huge Rs 254.51 crore.
There was a further drop in prices on November 1, the last trading session of the week. ITC closed on the BSE at Rs 299 when shares worth Rs 79.15 crore were traded, while the closing price on the National Stock Exchange was Rs 300.45, involving trading volumes of Rs 240.94 crore.
There are varied opinions among marketmen on the way the stock would move in the coming trading sessions. Says Gul Tekchandani of Sun F & C, "The entire downside is yet to enter the price of the stock. I am expecting a further downfall in the coming sessions.
But then how much would depend on the extent of liability that would be arrived at, which would be done in the next few days". However, not everyone agrees with this opinion.
Said Venkatsubramanium of Kotak Securities, "Despite the recent events witnessed in ITC, concerning its management, the stock continues to remain a fundamentally attractive stock".
On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the ITC stock witnessed ulta badla with the weighted average badla rate hovering around Re 1. The net outstanding quantity in the stock was 93,900 shares, worth Rs 2.8 crore.