India cigarette tax hike sends tobacco stocks reeling

MUMBAI, India: A surprise increase in excise duty on cigarettes triggered a sharp selloff in Indian tobacco stocks, as investors weighed the impact of higher prices on demand and profitability in one of the world's largest smoking markets.

Shares of ITC, the country's largest cigarette maker and producer of Gold Flake, fell 9.2 percent, while Godfrey Phillips India, which dist