ITC jumps 3% on report of cigarette price hike; analysts see base formation

ITC shares jumped 3 per cent after reports said that the company has hikes cigarette prices. Analysts said that ITC stock is currently forming a base after the recent breakdown

ITC share price: Shares of ITC Ltd jumped more than 3 per cent on Tuesday after reports said the company has announced a hike in cigarette prices. ITC shares opened in the green, at ₹318.45, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and went on to make an intraday high of ₹328.05, up 3.18 per cent.  Around 12:30 PM, the stock traded firmly in the green to quote 2.3 per cent higher at ₹325.25.  Today is the second straight session when ITC shares moved northward. Trading activity also saw a sharp uptick with 28.4 million shares of the company changing hands on the NSE at the time of writing report, compared with the previous session's total traded quantity of 11.6 million shares, according to exchange data.  ITC was also among the top gainers in the 50-share Nifty pack around the same time. 

 

ITC stock forming base: Analysts  

Commenting on ITC stock, Nilesh Jain, VP- Head Derivatives and Technical Research, Centrum Broking, said that ITC share price is in uptrend after reports say that the company has hiked prices of its products to offset the impact of new excise duty. The counter looks great at current levels after the recent sell-off and that the risk-to-reward ratio has become attractive from a positional perspective.  "ITC was in an oversold zone. The stock is now witnessing a base formation. So it is a buy for a target of ₹370 on a positional basis (near-term). Stop loss should be somewhere around ₹310," the analyst said.  Aakash Shah, technical analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said that ITC is showing an early base formation after a sharp breakdown. The recent price action indicates a potential short-term trend stabilisation as the stock has started forming a higher low near the ₹308 - ₹310 demand zone, suggesting selling pressure is gradually absorbing.  The latest bounce has pushed ITC back above the 20 EMA (₹323.75), indicating a shift in short-term momentum from extreme bearishness to a consolidation. Meanwhile, the 50, 100 and 200 EMAs remain above the price and continue to slope downward, reflecting that the broader trend structure is still corrective and supply-dominated.

The analyst said that ₹313 emerges as the immediate support, followed by a stronger demand zone around ₹306. "On the upside, the ₹340–₹345 zone near the 50 EMA is likely to act as a key resistance, where supply pressure may reappear." 

ITC revenue from cigarette business

Notably, ITC had come under pressure after the government levied an additional excise duty on tobacco products and a health cess on pan masala, effective February 1, 2026. The new levies are over and above the GST rate and replaced the compensation cess. 

ITC's cigarette business accounts for more than 40 per cent of the company's total revenue alone. In Q3FY26, the segment reported a 7.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) jump in topline at ₹9,681.08 crore. The firm's total revenue from sales stood at ₹21,577.58 crore.  ITC stock has underperformed the broader markets significantly over the years. As per exchange data, ITC stock has corrected 21 per cent in the last one year versus nearly 10 per cent rise in the frontline Nifty index. The counter has slipped 15 per cent in two years and 10 per cent in three years as against 15 per cent and 36 per cent rise in the benchmark during the same period. 

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