ITC becomes most influential stock in Sensex

FMCG major ITC on Wednesday became the most influential stock on BSE benchmark Sensex, pushing energy giant Reliance Industries to the second spot.

At the end of today's trade, ITC commanded 10.01 per cent weight, while RIL had 9.07 per cent weight, followed by ICICI Bank, which had 7.66 per cent weight, in 30-share Sensex.

A stock's weight in Sensex is measured by the value of a company's free-float or non-promoter shares that can be freely traded in the market.

Shares of ITC settled 0.81 per cent higher at Rs 287.60 on the BSE, while RIL fell by 0.97 per cent to Rs 805.40.

RIL shares have been under pressure since last three days, as weak quarterly earnings remained a worry, said analysts.

Reliance Industries on Monday reported its fourth consecutive drop in quarterly net profit, hurt by weak demand and lower natural gas output, but sequentially its earnings had rebounded.

RIL's July-September net profit at Rs 5,376 crore (Rs 53.76 billion), fell 5.7 per cent from Rs 5,703 crore (Rs 53.03 billion) in the previous year.

Meanwhile, ITC had first replaced RIL as the most influential stock on Indian bourses on April 17, but the very next day the energy major regained the top-weighted stock status on the BSE benchmark index Sensex, pushing the FMCG giant down to the second slot.

In terms of market valuation, RIL remains the most valued company in the country with a market-cap of Rs 260,589 crore (Rs 2.6 trillion), while ITC's is valued at Rs 225,947 crore (Rs 2.26 trillion).