ITC Stock Plunges 10% on New Excise Duty, Hits LIC & Mutual Funds Hard

• ITC shares crashed 10% to ₹362.70 on January 1, 2026, after the government imposed a new excise duty on cigarettes, effective next month.
• The sharp decline impacts major institutional investors, including LIC (15.86% stake) and 46 mutual funds holding 14.30% collectively.
• SBI Mutual Fund (3.26%) and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (2.28%) are among the largest mutual fund investors affected.
• Market expert Siddharth Maurya warns of margin pressure and continued volatility due to ITC's reliance on its tobacco business.
• This marks ITC's biggest single-day fall in over eight months, with the stock delivering negative returns for the first time since 2020.

Why It Matters: New excise duty on cigarettes caused ITC stock to crash 10%, significantly impacting major investors.