ITC CRASHES ON CIGARETTE TAX HIKE: ₹72,000 CRORE MARKET CAP WIPED OUT, LIC & PSU INSURERS HIT HARD

ITC shares witnessed a sharp sell-off over the last two trading sessions after the government increased excise duty on cigarettes, triggering panic selling and heavy value erosion. The stock plunged nearly 14% in just two days, hitting a fresh 52-week low of ₹345.25 on January 2, 2026, before recovering marginally. As per the latest shareholding pattern, ITC is a fully public-owned company with no promoter holding. Among the largest shareholders are state-run insurers — LIC holds 15.86%, GIC holds 1.73%, and New India Assurance holds 1.40%. Due to the sharp fall, LIC is currently facing a notional loss of approximately ₹11,468 crore, while GIC and New India Assurance have notional losses of around ₹1,254 crore and ₹1,018 crore respectively. Collectively, these three PSU insurers have seen nearly ₹13,740 crore of notional value wiped out within just two trading sessions. The sell-off has also erased nearly ₹72,000 crore from ITC’s total market capitalisation, which now stands near ₹4.38 lakh crore. ITC closed around 4% lower at ₹350.10 on January 2 and is down over 13% in the last five trading days and more than 15% over the past six months. It is important to note that these are notional losses and would be realised only if the institutions sell their holdings at current levels. SUPPORTING HASHTAGS: #ITC #ITCShare #StockMarketCrash #CigaretteTax #ExciseDuty #LIC #GIC #NewIndiaAssurance #PSUStocks #MarketNews #Nifty50 #IndianStockMarket #StockMarketIndia #WealthErosion #StockYard