The Hindu Business Line : Fortune favours the brave

BL Research Bureau With the Sensex down by 52 per cent for the year and every sector index in the red, would anyone have made money in stocks in 2008? Yes, the fortunate few who bought stocks on two days – October 27 and November 20.

October 27 saw both the Sensex and the Nifty hit their low points for the year at 7,697 and 2,253 respectively. The market again dipped to its second lowest level on November 20, when the Sensex closed at 8,451 and the Nifty at 2,553. Subsequent rallies have pulled the Sensex to 9,716 and Nifty to 2,979.

So, investors who bought stocks on these two days are likely to have profited from the upswing that followed. The Sensex has jumped 14 per cent from its October low and 15 per cent from its November lows, while the Nifty has gained even more at 18 and 17 per cent.

So, had you invested on either of these dates, you are likely to have made, at the least, a 14 per cent profit by end December. That’s not a bad return for a holding period of just two months.

Some stocks, however, delivered even more impressive gains from their lows.

Within the BSE 500, one of the best performers was Gammon Infra, which has till date delivered a return of 130 per cent from its October levels, followed by IVRCL (125 per cent).

November gainers include Matrix Labs (101 per cent) and IRB Infra (93 per cent). A lesson that fortune favours the brave?

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