ITC today became the fourth largest company in terms of market capitalisation, surpassing FMCG major Hindustan Unilever. ITC shares surged as much as 6.92 per cent to touch a high of Rs 307. Following the spike in the counter, the market capitalisation of the company stood at Rs 3,69,564.63 crore.
Meanwhile, HUL shares slumped one per cent to a low of Rs 1651.50. The company’s market cap stood at Rs 3,57,922.20 crore. The top ten firms in terms of market capitalisation are TCS, RIL, HDFC Bank, ITC, HUL, HDFC, Infosys, Maruti, Kotak, Mahindra Bank and SBI.
ITC stock is on an uptrend for the seventh consecutive session and has surged 14.42 per cent since July 18. According to market experts, the uptick in ITC counter was largely owing to the strong first quarter results. Besides, the bullish trend in the broader market helped investor sentiment.
ITC had yesterday reported 10 per cent rise in standalone net profit at Rs 2,818.68 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2018, aided by lower expenses, good growth in agri-business and other FMCG business despite decline in cigarettes sales.
Meanwhile, the Sensex rallied over 300 points, and Nifty breached the 11,200 mark for the first time in early trade.