After Budget newsflow on GST rates, demand hold key for ITC stock

Shares of the cigarette maker hit 52-week high after the Budget left taxes unchanged

Shares of ITC, the leader in domestic cigarettes industry, advanced close to 3.5 per cent intra-day to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 223.5 per share on the NSE on Tuesday. The stock though witnessed some profit-booking before ending the day with 1.2 per cent gains, but is still up 7.5 per cent in the past two days.

The gains come on the back of no mention of a widely expected hike in National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) in the Budget. To put it into context, analysts were expecting the finance minister to increase taxes on cigarettes in order