Best Performing Nifty Stocks for the month ending October 2026

HOW NIFTY STOCKS PERFORMED IN OCTOBER 2026?

Unlike the deep cuts in September, the Nifty 50 bounced +1.91% in October 2026. However, this was largely triggered by IT stocks. The correction has been much sharper in the large caps due to vulnerability to crude oil prices and geopolitical risk. Annual returns on the Nifty were deeply in the negative as of end October at -10.92%.

FPIs were net sellers in equities to the tune of $(3.60) billion, with some offset from the Jio Platforms IPO flows. Out of the 50 stocks, 22 stocks gave positive returns over 1-month, while just 19 stocks gave positive returns over 1-year. The Nifty index is about 12.6% from its peak levels. FPIs were net buyers in debt in October 2026.

Data Source: NSE

Note: All the percentage changes shown above are point-to-point returns and have not been annualized. The combined rank score is just a theoretical number for representation purpose.

ARRIVING AT THE COMBINED RANKS FOR NIFTY STOCKS

There were 3 steps in the ranking process to identify the best Nifty-50 performers based on momentum and structural returns.

• In the first step the Nifty 50 stocks were ranked based on 1-month returns to get a momentum perspective. Then, the Nifty-50 stocks were ranked on swing (proximity to the 52-week high). They jointly represent momentum returns on Nifty-50 stocks.

• In the second step the Nifty-50 stocks are ranked based on 1-year returns to get a structural returns view. Then, the Nifty-50 stocks are ranked on bounce (from the 52-week lows). They jointly represent structural returns of Nifty 50 stocks.

• Once these 4 parameters are ranked as explained above, the arithmetic average of these 4 ranks is taken to arrive at the combined rank. Finally, the Nifty 50 companies are ranked on the combined rank, as shown in the table.

So, what are the key takeaways from the data?

WHAT WE READ FROM NIFTY RANKINGS FOR OCTOBER 2026?

Here are key takeaways from Nifty performance as of October 2026.

• In the Top-20 stocks listed in the table, TCS gave the best 1-month return of 22.04%. Out of these Top-20 stocks, 15 gave positive returns over 1-month period.

• In the Top-20 stocks list, BSE Ltd and Adani Ports gave best 1-year returns of 43.7% and 26.9%. A total of 14 out of 20 stocks in the top-20 gave positive returns.

• The most prominent sector in the top-20 by combined rankings was Consumer Services with 4 stocks; including Eternal, Trent, Bharti Airtel, and Titan. The sectoral buying was quite strong ahead of the festive season, which sees a spike in demand.

• Healthcare stocks rallied on the back of CDMO prospects, patent expiries, biosimilars, and index approaching new highs. Reddy Labs, Apollo Hospitals, Cipla, and Sun Pharma figured in the top-20 list; scoring high on structural longer-term returns. Healthcare appears to have multiple triggers in its favour.

• The real alpha sector that turned around was IT; with Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, and TCS appearing in the Top-20 list. Apart from a positive surprise by TCS in Q2FY27; Tech Mahindra saw surge in new deals while HCL Tech saw a surge in AI revenues.

• There were 2 other broad positive themes in October 2026. The list includes 3 infrastructure plays (Adani Ports, L&T, and Grasim). Despite the rate hike, financial intermediation stories like Kotak Bank, BSE, and ICICI Bank figured in top-20 list.

• The stocks at the bottom are hardly a surprise. Reliance was there in the bottom quadrant, but that was more due to hiving off value to Jio Platforms. FMCG and four-wheelers found a place in the bottom, due concerns over rural sales. Insurance stocks are under stress after the new commission rules proposed by IRDAI.

The one sector that changed the fortunes of the market overall was front-line IT. Indian IT appears to be benefitting from the global anti-AI trade as ROI becomes the focus.