The Year In Review
Best Performing Stocks of 2017
1 January – 31 December 2017
Of the 327 companies with a complete 2017, 297 finished the year higher and 30 finished lower. The median stock returned +47.7%. The average was +68.2% — well above the median, which means a small number of exceptional performers pulled it up rather than gains being spread evenly.
- Stocks tracked
- 327
- Median return
- +47.7%
- Average return
- +68.2%
- Finished higher
- 90.8%
The Winners
Top 25 stocks of 2017
Ranked by total return over the calendar year, December close to December close. The ₹10,000 column is the same simulation baseline used across the site.
| # | Stock | Sector | Return | ₹10,000 became |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HEGH.E.G. Ltd. | Metals & Mining | +1456.5% | ₹1,55,653 |
| 2 | GRAPHITEGraphite India Ltd. | Metals & Mining | +881.6% | ₹98,165 |
| 3 | OLECTRAOlectra Greentech Ltd. | Automobile | +639.5% | ₹73,951 |
| 4 | HSCLHimadri Speciality Chemical Ltd. | Chemicals | +362.8% | ₹46,284 |
| 5 | PCBLPCBL Chemical Ltd. | Chemicals | +350.4% | ₹45,042 |
| 6 | UNOMINDAUNO Minda Ltd. | Automobile | +328.4% | ₹42,845 |
| 7 | GRAVITAGravita India Ltd. | Metals & Mining | +304.9% | ₹40,485 |
| 8 | ADANIENSOLAdani Energy Solutions Ltd. | Power | +295.0% | ₹39,498 |
| 9 | SAREGAMASaregama India Ltd | Media & Entertainment | +287.5% | ₹38,752 |
| 10 | BBTCBombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd. | Diversified | +230.8% | ₹33,077 |
| 11 | PGELPG Electroplast Ltd. | Consumer Durables | +222.5% | ₹32,246 |
| 12 | ACEAction Construction Equipment Ltd. | Capital Goods | +221.0% | ₹32,098 |
| 13 | LTFOODSLT Foods Ltd. | Food Products | +220.5% | ₹32,048 |
| 14 | ITIITI Ltd. | Telecommunications | +205.9% | ₹30,590 |
| 15 | KEIKEI Industries Ltd. | Capital Goods | +204.8% | ₹30,482 |
| 16 | RKFORGERamkrishna Forgings Ltd. | Capital Goods | +204.4% | ₹30,438 |
| 17 | JINDALSTELJindal Steel Ltd. | Metals & Mining | +196.3% | ₹29,632 |
| 18 | MOTILALOFSMotilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. | Financial Services | +187.4% | ₹28,736 |
| 19 | JSLJindal Stainless Ltd. | Metals & Mining | +177.0% | ₹27,703 |
| 20 | KECKec International Ltd. | Capital Goods | +174.4% | ₹27,444 |
| 21 | IIFLIIFL Finance Ltd. | Financial Services | +168.6% | ₹26,856 |
| 22 | TATACONSUMTata Consumer Products Ltd. | FMCG | +167.1% | ₹26,705 |
| 23 | ESCORTSEscorts Kubota Ltd. | Capital Goods | +166.0% | ₹26,602 |
| 24 | DCMSHRIRAMDCM Shriram Ltd. | Chemicals | +165.6% | ₹26,558 |
| 25 | TITANTitan Company Ltd. | Consumer Durables | +163.8% | ₹26,385 |
A year of this size usually reflects a recovery from a low base or a re-rating rather than a repeatable rate of growth — which is why last year's leaders so rarely lead the next one.
The Losers
Worst performing stocks of 2017
The same universe, from the bottom. Ranked by total return over the calendar year.
| # | Stock | Sector | Return | ₹10,000 became |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J&KBANKJammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd. | Banking | -50.3% | ₹4,973 |
| 2 | LUPINLupin Ltd. | Pharmaceuticals | -40.1% | ₹5,992 |
| 3 | GLENMARKGlenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | Pharmaceuticals | -32.8% | ₹6,716 |
| 4 | MCXMulti Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. | Financial Services | -27.0% | ₹7,297 |
| 5 | INOXWINDInox Wind Ltd. | Power | -20.7% | ₹7,933 |
| 6 | DRREDDYDr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. | Pharmaceuticals | -20.5% | ₹7,947 |
| 7 | MAHABANKBank of Maharashtra | Banking | -20.2% | ₹7,976 |
| 8 | LALPATHLABDr. Lal Path Labs Ltd. | Healthcare | -17.3% | ₹8,270 |
| 9 | AJANTPHARMAjanta Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | Pharmaceuticals | -16.0% | ₹8,398 |
| 10 | GALLANTTGallantt Ispat Ltd. | Metals & Mining | -15.1% | ₹8,490 |
| 11 | IDBIIDBI Bank Ltd. | Banking | -13.8% | ₹8,624 |
| 12 | CRISILCRISIL Ltd. | Financial Services | -13.7% | ₹8,632 |
| 13 | CENTRALBKCentral Bank of India | Banking | -13.6% | ₹8,641 |
| 14 | NEULANDLABNeuland Laboratories Ltd. | Pharmaceuticals | -13.5% | ₹8,649 |
| 15 | NHNarayana Hrudayalaya Ltd. | Healthcare | -13.0% | ₹8,698 |
| 16 | UCOBANKUCO Bank | Banking | -12.3% | ₹8,772 |
| 17 | FORTISFortis Healthcare Ltd. | Healthcare | -11.3% | ₹8,872 |
| 18 | IOBIndian Overseas Bank | Banking | -8.9% | ₹9,113 |
| 19 | SUNPHARMASun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. | Pharmaceuticals | -8.7% | ₹9,127 |
| 20 | IDFCFIRSTBIDFC First Bank Ltd. | Banking | -8.6% | ₹9,145 |
| 21 | TMPVTata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. | Automobile | -8.5% | ₹9,149 |
| 22 | GLAXOGlaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | Pharmaceuticals | -7.7% | ₹9,226 |
| 23 | COALINDIACoal India Ltd. | Metals & Mining | -6.8% | ₹9,317 |
| 24 | SCHNEIDERSchneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd. | Capital Goods | -6.8% | ₹9,318 |
| 25 | ZENSARTECHZensar Technolgies Ltd. | Information Technology | -4.9% | ₹9,510 |
Two caveats matter more here than on the board above. Our data source does not credit demergers, so a company that spun off a subsidiary can show a fall that was a restructuring rather than a loss. And businesses that collapsed or delisted are not on this site at all — the genuinely worst performers of a bad year may be missing entirely.
The Market
What the indices did in 2017
The benchmark a stock has to beat to have been worth picking individually. Measured on the same December-to-December, dividends-reinvested basis as every row above, which puts these a little above the price change usually quoted in the press.
- Nifty 50
- +28.6%
- ₹10,000 became ₹12,865
- Nifty 500
- +35.9%
- ₹10,000 became ₹13,591
By Sector
Best performing sectors of 2017
Ranked by the median company in each sector, not the average. Where the two diverge sharply, the sector rose on a few names rather than broadly — which is worth knowing before reading a headline average as a description of the whole industry.
| Sector | Median | Average | Stocks | Best in sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Realty | +88.0% | +101.4% | 9 | SOBHA+153.6% |
| Consumer Durables | +84.9% | +102.8% | 10 | PGEL+222.5% |
| Metals & Mining | +79.3% | +176.4% | 24 | HEG+1456.5% |
| Diversified | +73.6% | +93.6% | 6 | BBTC+230.8% |
| Retail | +68.7% | +66.8% | 3 | JUBLFOOD+106.7% |
| Media & Entertainment | +67.1% | +111.2% | 4 | SAREGAMA+287.5% |
| Chemicals | +65.8% | +93.8% | 24 | HSCL+362.8% |
| Financial Services | +64.8% | +66.9% | 27 | MOTILALOFS+187.4% |
| Construction | +61.5% | +65.1% | 4 | KPIL+91.2% |
| Logistics | +54.3% | +51.8% | 6 | AEGISLOG+123.2% |
| Automobile | +50.9% | +93.7% | 25 | OLECTRA+639.5% |
| Capital Goods | +48.9% | +69.5% | 32 | ACE+221.0% |
| Telecommunications | +45.9% | +71.0% | 7 | ITI+205.9% |
| Oil & Gas | +41.5% | +40.8% | 13 | IGL+83.5% |
| Textiles | +40.9% | +44.2% | 5 | PAGEIND+88.3% |
| FMCG | +38.6% | +55.1% | 17 | TATACONSUM+167.1% |
| Banking | +36.9% | +26.1% | 24 | INDIANB+73.8% |
| Cement | +33.5% | +40.2% | 7 | INDIACEM+58.2% |
| Power | +32.5% | +53.4% | 16 | ADANIENSOL+295.0% |
| Information Technology | +31.8% | +31.6% | 21 | REDINGTON+94.3% |
| Food Products | +30.6% | +72.3% | 4 | LTFOODS+220.5% |
| Pharmaceuticals | +12.5% | +12.3% | 23 | CAPLIPOINT+84.5% |
| Healthcare | -3.5% | +10.7% | 7 | BIOCON+70.1% |
Sectors with fewer than three listed companies are omitted — an average over two stocks describes those two stocks, not an industry.
How This Is Calculated
Reading these figures properly
Complete years only
December close to December close. A company that listed partway through 2017 has no figure for it, and the current year never appears until it has ended — a fragment of a year reported as a year is a quietly wrong number.
Total return
Prices are adjusted for dividends and stock splits, so dividends count as reinvested. That puts these figures a little above the price changes quoted elsewhere. Demergers are not credited, and brokerage and taxes are not modelled.
Survivors only
This is today's Nifty 500 universe. Companies that delisted or collapsed since 2017 are absent, which matters most on the losing end of the table.
Full definitions are on our methodology page.
HELP CENTER
2017 stock returns — common questions
Everything you need to know about this page and the data presented.
Which stock performed best in 2017?+
H.E.G. Ltd. (HEG) returned +1456.5% over 2017, turning ₹10,000 into ₹1,55,653. That is a record of what happened in one calendar year, not a recommendation, and a year of that size is almost never repeated by the same company.
Was 2017 a good year for Indian stocks?+
297 of the 327 companies with a complete 2017 finished higher, and the median stock returned +47.7%. The Nifty 50 returned +28.6%. The median is the more useful figure than the average of +68.2%: averages are pulled around by a handful of extreme performers, while the median describes what the typical stock actually did.
What was the Nifty return in 2017?+
The Nifty 50 returned +28.6% over 2017. The broader Nifty 500 returned +35.9%. Both are measured December close to December close on the adjusted index level, so dividends are treated as reinvested — which makes them a little higher than the price change usually quoted in the press.
Which stock performed worst in 2017?+
Among the companies still in today's Nifty 500, Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd. (J&KBANK) fell -50.3%, taking ₹10,000 down to ₹4,973. Read this list with two caveats. Our data source does not credit demergers, so a company that spun off a subsidiary can show a fall that was a restructuring rather than a loss. And businesses that collapsed or delisted are not on this site at all, so the genuinely worst performers of a bad year may be missing entirely.
Which sector performed best in 2017?+
Realty, with a median return of +88.0% across 9 companies and SOBHA its strongest name at +153.6%. Sectors are ranked by their median company rather than their average, because one outsized winner can lift an average without most of the sector having moved.
How are 2017 returns calculated?+
December close to December close, on prices adjusted for dividends and stock splits — so these are total returns with dividends treated as reinvested, not price changes. Only complete years appear: a company that listed partway through 2017 has no figure for it, and the current year is never shown until it has ended. Brokerage and taxes are not modelled, and demergers are not credited.
Should I buy the best performing stocks of 2017?+
This page does not answer that, and we do not make recommendations. A year of exceptional returns often reflects a recovery from a low base, a favourable cycle, or a re-rating that cannot repeat — which is why last year's leaders so rarely lead the next one. ReturnScreener is an educational research platform and is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser. Treat this as a record of what happened, and a starting point for asking why.
Another year
Every complete year we hold, newest first. The contrast between them is the point: a stock that led one year is rarely near the top of the next.
Continue Your Research
Beyond a single year
One calendar year is the shortest useful window there is. These read the same record over longer ones.
ReturnScreener is an educational research platform and is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser. Everything on this page is a record of what historical prices did, not a projection and not a recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. See our methodology and disclaimer.