PremiumShares of Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd rallied 825%, 818% and 719% respectively in the past year. These were the top three gainers among the top 200 stocks by market capitalization
A year ago, the coronavirus pandemic had wreaked mayhem on Dalal Street. With the Nifty 200 index declining as much as 37% from its peak in February 2020, investors were fleeing as if it was the end of the world. But, as they say, fortune favours the brave. Investors who bought stocks a year ago have made great returns.
The Nifty 200 index has risen 97% in the past year. Barring Yes Bank Ltd and gems and jewellery designer Rajesh Exports Ltd, investors could have blindly picked any stock from among the top 200 by market capitalization and made decent returns.
Leading the pack was the Adani Group, with shares of Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd rallying 825%, 818% and 719%, respectively, in the past year.
Tata Motors came in fourth with returns of 358%. Two other Adani group firms made it to the top 10 list as well.
In fact, the five Adani group stocks together generated returns of 488% in the past year, beating the returns of the next best in the list—Tata Motors. The stellar performance of the group’s stocks comes alongside its rapid expansion across ports, airports and gas distribution, among others.
Among other gainers, surprisingly, shares of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Ltd have rallied by nearly 320%. Delayed payments of loan instalments and, hence, an increase in bad loans were seen as key threats for non-banking financial companies. But the firm’s quick turnaround and solid asset quality has impressed investors.
From the commodities space, Hindalco Industries Ltd and JSW Steel Ltd have made it to the top 10 gainers’ list. The stocks surged by over 250% in the past year.
Even the shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, have risen 217% in the past year. A year ago, few gave it a chance of survival, with the stock languishing at around ₹3 apiece. But bets that the company will survive has led to a trebling of its value.
Note that even among the bottom 10 stocks, firms such as Pfizer India Ltd, Gillette India Ltd and Akzo Nobel India Ltd posted returns of 15-20% in the past one year.
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, one of the worst affected sectors by the pandemic, have doubled in the past year.
Shares of Indian Hotels Co. Ltd rose by over 50%. In other words, investors could have practically bought anything within the set of top 200 stocks and made decent returns.
Barring, of course, the shares of Yes Bank and Rajesh Exports. These stocks have fallen around 63% and 14%, respectively.
The cash-strapped Yes Bank had to be bailed out by a few other banks, which added to the downward pressure on the stock. But for the boom in the equity markets, investors in the Yes Bank stock could have been in a far worse position.
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