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Mumbai: The ITC stock could run up by another 10-15% in the near term after gaining 4.5% on Wednesday as the stake sale by British American Tobacco (BAT) in the tobacco-to-FMCG major has removed an overhang for the stock, said analysts."Major uncertainties hovering around the stock are over, while business fundamentals are intact," said Kaustubh Pawaskar, analyst, Sharekhan. "Efficient capital allocation plan and strong dividend payout make it a preferred pick in the large-cap FMCG space with attractive valuations."On Wednesday, ITC shares surged as much as 9% to ₹438, before closing at ₹422.40. BAT, which is the largest shareholder in ITC, earlier in the trading session sold 43.69 crore shares of the company, representing 3.5% of the stake, through open market transactions worth ₹17,485 crore.ITC shares have been underperforming since BAT announced its intention to sell the stake. They have declined by more than 10% since January 1, while the Sensex inched higher by a percent during the period.108476964"On the upside, the stock has potential to reach ₹460-480 zone over a period of few months; while for the short term, ₹440 seems to be an immediate resistance," said Mehul Kothari, technical analyst at Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers. "Till the time ₹390 is not breached, any dip should be used as a buying opportunity in the stock."ITC had hit an all-time high of ₹499.70 in July 2023 after running up over 130% from February 2022.Brokerages such as HSBC and CLSA upgraded the stock to a 'buy' rating on Wednesday, while Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs maintained their 'buy' rating, citing clearance of supply overhang and the stock's steady prospects in a volatile market.Morgan Stanley said BAT's stake sale will clear the uncertainty around stock performance and expects ITC's stock outperformance to resume after the stake sale."We remain bullish on ITC based on our expectation of a moderate cigarette tax environment, continued scale-up of non-cigarette businesses and reasonable valuations," said the note. Morgan Stanley put an overweight rating with a target price of ₹491.HSBC upgraded ITC to 'buy' with a target price of ₹480, while Goldman Sachs maintained its 'buy' rating on ITC with a target price of ₹480.Out of the 37 brokerages tracking ITC, 34 have assigned a 'buy' rating, with an average target price of ₹503. This target price represents a potential upside of about 19%.BAT's ownership in ITC has decreased to 25.5% from its previous level of 29%. The British tobacco company has explicitly stated its intention to maintain its shareholding in ITC above 25%.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways has raised its locomotive production target for FY25 by 27% to 1,500 units, officials aware of the development said.The national transporter will keep this annual production target unchanged till FY27, they said.The railways have eight production units in the country where they make wheels, axles, locomotives and coaches. They had aimed to close the current fiscal with 1,180 new locomotives.Underlining the push towards running more freight train services, the railways are looking at manufacturing 1,240 locomotives of the WAG 9H make in FY25. Another 260 locomotives of the WAP 7 variant will be manufactured - primarily for passenger train operations - the same year.According to the latest plan, 1,300 WAG 9H locomotives will be made annually in FY26 and FY27, while 200 units of the WAP 7 variant will be manufactured every year in this period. Besides locomotives, the production plan for 50 Amrit Bharat trains has also been approved for FY25. This will mean production of 1,230 coaches at the production units of the railways.A modest 4.6% upward revision from the earlier plan has projected in the overall coach production target for FY25, with 8,145 coaches to be rolled out from the railways' production units. The difference is steeper compared with the production target of 6,560 coaches in FY24. This includes production programmes of Vande Bharat, and Amrit Bharat coach variants. Within these, Indian Railways is aiming for 5,688 coaches of the Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) variant to be produced in FY25, up from 4,934 units planned for FY24. At 2,162 units, most LHB coaches will continue to be manufactured at the Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli. The railways are also targeting production of 3,017 self-propelled coaches in FY25. These cover variants for rapid metro, regional metro, Vande metro, and Gati Shakti trains, among others.In this category, 2,016 units will be made at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, while 618 units are supposed to be manufactured at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala.

The Uniform Civil Code Bill, passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly on February 7, has become a law with President Droupadi Murmu giving her assent to it. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country after Independence to adopt the UCC. "It is a moment of great joy and pride for people of the state that the Uniform Civil Code Bill passed by our government in the Uttarakhand Assembly has been approved by the Honorable President Smt Droupadi Murmu," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on X. The President gave her assent to the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024 under Article 201 of the Constitution of India on March 11, a gazette notification by the government of Uttarakhand said. "With the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code law in the state alongside providing equal rights to all citizens, the oppression of women will also be curbed," Dhami said. "#UniformCivilCode will play an important role in promoting harmony by proving the importance of social equality," he said. The state government is determined to protect the interests of citizens and maintain the essential character of Uttarakhand in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added. State BJP president Mahendra Bhatt also expressed happiness over the President's approval to the UCC. "It will give equal rights to all citizens," he said. Uttarakhand BJP media in-charge Manveer Chauhan said it is the fulfilment of a major commitment made by the party to the people of the state ahead of 2022 state assembly polls.

Nifty on Wednesday ended 338 points lower to slip below its immediate support of the short-term moving average i.e. 20-DEMA and also breached the trendline support.The bullish pattern like higher tops and bottoms continued on the daily chart and the present weakness could be in line with the new higher bottom formation. But a decisive move below 21,860 levels (last higher bottom of 29th Feb) could negate this bullish setup and that could eventually form a bearish pattern like lower tops and bottoms, Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said.The daily momentum indicator had a negative crossover. OI data showed that on the call side, the highest OI was observed at a 22,000 strike price, while on the put side, the highest OI was at 21,800 strike price.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Rajesh Bhosale, Angel OneAny minor rebounds should be viewed as opportunities to lighten long positions and potentially initiate short ones. Near-term resistance is anticipated around the 22,200 - 22,250 range, while immediate support lies near the 50-EMA, situated between 21,850 - 21,800, followed by a swing low at 21,500. While sharp market declines often disregard key supports, the weekly expiry may influence these levels. Given the expected heightened volatility, traders are advised to avoid undue risk and utilize the mentioned support and resistance levels for trade setups.Jatin Gedia, SharekhanWe change the short-term outlook to sideways and the range of consolidation is likely to be 21,500 – 22,300. As per the Elliott wave principle, we believe that the index is forming wave D of an Ending Diagonal pattern. Below 21,530, the assumption of wave D shall be negated. In terms of levels, 21,910 – 21,860 is the crucial support zone, while 22,200 – 22,230 shall act as an immediate hurdle zone from a short-term perspective.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

India has overtaken China on two-key parametres -- export to GDP ratio and services export-- with regard to integration into the global market, said a DHL Global Connectedness Report on Wednesday. India's exports-to-GDP ratio has exceeded China's since 2021 and also the country's services trade intensity far for both exports and imports, said the 'New DHL Global Connectedness Report 2024' by DHL and New York University's Stern School of Business, released here. The report said that in 2021 and 2022, India's exports and imports as a share of GDP increased sharply. India exported goods and services was 23 per cent of the GDP (up from 19 per cent in 2020) and imported goods and services 26 per cent of GDP (also up from 19 per cent in 2020). India's services trade intensity far exceeds China's for both exports and imports, the report said. However, as regards the merchandise trade, India has larger imports relative to its GDP while China has larger exports. "While India's global connectedness ranking reflects its current economic standing, the report makes it clear: the world can expect to see India's international engagement increase manifold in the years to come," said RS Subramanian, Senior Vice President for South Asia at DHL Express. The report further said that globalisation reached a record high in 2022 and stayed nearly as high in 2023 despite various global shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the US-China trade conflict. Like all large economies, India conducts most of its business activity domestically. However, international trade comprises a growing share of India's economy, the report said. "We foresee immense potential for deeper global integration for India, and in fact, our domestic economic boom is an opportunity for even greater international collaboration. India's trade ties are poised for significant expansion," Subramanian added. After a slowdown in 2023, global trade growth is forecast to accelerate in 2024, the report said. The report tracks flows of trade, capital, information, movement of people around the world and measures the globalisation of 181 countries and territories.