Shares of cigarette to hotel maker ITC, dipped more than 3% on fears that domestic regulatory hurdles could affect profitability, after reports that Australian court had approved logo ban on tobacco packs.

The shares of ITC slid below the Rs 260 per share mark and were trading at Rs 259.30, down 3.16% at 1.10 pm IST. A few brokerage firms and investments banks have now downgraded the stock.

ITC is a diversified conglomerate with interests in tobacco, hotels, paper etc. The company has one of the highest weightage in the Sensex and any drop in the share prices of the company, drags indices lower.

ITC recently posted its results which were in line with market expectations. Net profit grew 20 per cent to Rs 1,602.14 crore while net sales increased 15 per cent to Rs 6,652.21 crore in the first quarter of 2012.
The shares of the company are likely to continue to be under pressure in the next few trading sessions.

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