Strategies on The Algo Bench

Buying last year's losers: the NIFTY 500's worst performers kept losing

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The idea

Buy what has fallen the most and wait for it to bounce back. It’s one of the most natural instincts in investing, and it has a respectable academic history: a famous 1985 study found that US stocks with the worst returns over the past three to five years went on to beat the market. Prices overshoot, the argument goes, so the most hated stocks become too cheap.

Low volatility: hold the 30 calmest stocks in the NIFTY 500

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The idea

The “low-volatility anomaly” is one of the best-documented puzzles in finance. Theory says riskier stocks should earn more, yet in many markets the calmest stocks have earned about as much as the market, or more, with much smaller falls. One common explanation: many investors chase exciting stocks and avoid dull ones, leaving the dull ones cheap.

Monthly momentum: hold the 15 strongest stocks until they fade

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The idea

Momentum is one of the most persistent effects in markets: stocks that have risen strongly over the past several months tend to keep outperforming for a while. The classic way to use it is a rotation: own the strongest stocks, and swap them out as their strength fades.

Selling a weekly NIFTY OTM strangle: steady profits, uncapped risk

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The idea

Most weekly NIFTY options expire worthless. A short strangle sells one call well above the index and one put well below it, collects both premiums, and profits if NIFTY stays between the two strikes until the options are closed or expire. The further away the strikes, the less premium you collect, but the less often the index reaches them.

Supertrend(10,2) on NIFTY: a simple trend-following system

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The idea

Supertrend is one of the most popular trend indicators among traders: a line that sits below the price in an uptrend and above it in a downtrend, flipping when the price closes through it. Used as a complete system, you are always in the market: long while it points up, short while it points down, reversing at each flip.

Connors' Double Seven on NIFTY: underperformer even with a high win rate

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The idea

Larry Connors’ Double Seven is one of the best-known short-term mean-reversion rules. In a market that is trending up, buy when it closes at a fresh 7-day low, and sell when it closes at a fresh 7-day high. The idea is that short pullbacks inside a long-term uptrend tend to snap back. The rule was popularised on US index ETFs. We wanted to see whether it carries over to NIFTY.

ORB on NIFTY: an edge on the index that you cannot profit from

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The idea

The opening-range breakout (ORB) is one of the oldest intraday ideas. Mark the high and low of the first 15 or 30 minutes. If price breaks above the range, go long; if it breaks below, go short. The logic is that the opening auction sets the day’s battle lines, and a decisive break shows which side won.