Momentum

52-Week High

From George & Hwang (2004)Read about it

Research by Thomas George and Chuan-Yang Hwang found that stocks close to their 52-week high tend to keep outperforming: investors anchor to that old high and are slow to price in good news. A signal comes on a fresh 52-week closing high made on heavy volume.

Yearly return, after costs+14.2%Nifty 500 +11.5% over the same years

Worst fall−43.5%Win rate37%Matches now7

How it works

The signal every rule true at the close

Close is the highest in 52 weeks
Volume is at least 1.5 times the 20-day average
6-month return is positive

The exit whichever comes first

Closes 10% below its highest close since the trade opened (a trailing stop)
Or closes below the 50-day moving average

Typical holdingWeeks to a few months

An example from the backtestWelspun Corp WELCORPThe rules were met at the close before 15 Jul 2026. The trade opened that morning and closed on 16 Sep 2026, 44 trading days later, +42.0% after costs. Exit: 10% below its highest close.

Stocks meeting the rules 7

At the close of 1 Oct 2026, among NSE's 500 most-traded stocks. A screen, not a recommendation: in the backtest, a trade opened at the next day's open.

Backtest

1 Jan 2016 to 1 Oct 2026: a 10-stock portfolio following these rules on NSE's 500 most-traded stocks at each date, after 0.2% costs on each side, against the Nifty 500 index.

Yearly return+14.2%Index +11.5%

Compound growth a year (CAGR).

Total return+317%Index +224%

Gain or loss over the whole test.

Worst fall−43.5%Index −38.3%

Largest drop from a high (max drawdown).

Win rate37.4%

Share of trades that closed with a gain.

Profit factor1.44

Rupees gained for every rupee lost.

Average trade+2.25%

Average result per trade, after costs.

Average gain · loss+19.7% · −8.2%

A typical winning and losing trade.

Days held25.4

Average trading days per trade.

Trades969

About 90 a year.

Sharpe ratio0.75

Return for each unit of ups and downs.

Time invested93%

Average share of the money in trades.

Best · worst trade+883% · −34%

The extremes, after costs.

₹1 lakh following the rules

1 Jan 2016 to 1 Oct 2026: ₹4.17 L against ₹3.24 L in the Nifty 500.

52-Week HighNifty 500

Falls from the high

Worst in this period −43.5%

Each calendar year

Return in the year, after costs.

52-Week HighNifty 500

How the 969 trades ended

Each trade's return after costs, grouped.

GainLoss

How sturdy is it?

The same rules, tested again with one thing changed. A result worth trusting holds up across these; a big swing means the headline figure depends on luck or on the exact setup.

Beat the Nifty 500 in 2 of 5 versions and in 1 of 2 halves of the test.

Version	Yearly return	Worst fall	Win rate	Profit factor	Trades
As published10 stocks at a time, 0.2% costs on each side	+14.2%	−43.5%	37.4%	1.44	969
With the market filterNew trades only while the Nifty 500 is above its 200-day average	+10.6%	−39.3%	38%	1.41	798
Costs doubled0.4% on each side, as slippage in thinner stocks can be	+10.4%	−47.0%	36.5%	1.34	969
5 stocks at a timeA bigger share of the money in each trade	+8.6%	−51.4%	36.2%	1.43	525
20 stocks at a timeA smaller share in each trade	+12.5%	−36.9%	37.1%	1.37	1,776

First half · 1 Jan 2016 to 21 May 2021

Strategy+30.0%/yr

Nifty 500+12.8%/yr

Ahead of the index by 17.2 points a year.

Second half · 21 May 2021 to 1 Oct 2026

Strategy+0.2%/yr

Nifty 500+10.3%/yr

Behind the index by 10.1 points a year.

Recent trades in the backtest

The last 12 trades the rules closed, with 10 still open.

Stock	Opened	Closed	Days	Return	Why it closed
Paisalo DigitalPAISALO	17 Sep 2026	29 Sep 2026	8	−6.2%	10% below its highest close
Diamond Power InfrastructureDIACABS	17 Sep 2026	28 Sep 2026	7	−11.0%	10% below its highest close
IOL Chemicals and PharmaceuticalsIOLCP	27 Aug 2026	16 Sep 2026	13	−3.4%	10% below its highest close
MstcMSTCLTD	25 Aug 2026	16 Sep 2026	15	−3.8%	10% below its highest close
Welspun CorpWELCORP	15 Jul 2026	16 Sep 2026	44	+42.0%	10% below its highest close
IFCIIFCI	3 Sep 2026	10 Sep 2026	5	−9.4%	10% below its highest close
R R KabelRRKABEL	29 Jul 2026	3 Sep 2026	26	+1.5%	10% below its highest close
Diamond Power InfrastructureDIACABS	22 Jul 2026	3 Sep 2026	31	+22.7%	10% below its highest close
Granules IndiaGRANULES	27 Mar 2026	27 Aug 2026	103	+31.1%	Closed below the 50-day average
E2E NetworksE2E	27 Jul 2026	25 Aug 2026	21	+12.8%	10% below its highest close
Lloyds Metals And EnergyLLOYDSME	30 Jul 2026	24 Aug 2026	17	−9.3%	10% below its highest close
Himadri Speciality ChemicalHSCL	11 Jun 2026	21 Aug 2026	50	+2.1%	10% below its highest close

How the tests work

Universe. The 500 most-traded NSE stocks at each date, by six-month average traded value, re-ranked every month: 1,353 different stocks over the years, 131 of which no longer trade. Testing all of them, not only today's survivors, keeps the results honest.
Period. 1 Jan 2016 to 1 Oct 2026, after a year of history for the long averages, on NSE's own end-of-day files: prices, delivery and futures open interest.
Portfolio. 10 slots, each a tenth of the portfolio's value when a trade opens. A signal at a day's close opens at the next day's open; an exit rule met at a close closes the trade at the next open. When there are more signals than free slots, the strategy's own ranking decides.
Costs. 0.2% on each side of every trade (STT, stamp duty, exchange charges and slippage). Tax and DP charges are not included.
Market filter. Every strategy is also tested opening new trades only while the Nifty 500 closes above its 200-day average. At the last close it was below it.
Robustness. Each strategy is run again with costs doubled, with 5 and with 20 stocks at a time, and judged separately in each half of the test. A result that only holds in one setup is luck, not an edge.
Corporate actions. Splits, bonus issues and demergers are applied from NSE's corporate-actions list, and symbol changes are joined up, so none of them shows up as a gain or a loss.
What is left out. Dividends (as in the Nifty 500 price index it is measured against), taxes, and the chance that a large order moves a thinly traded price.

Swing Lab is a screen and a history lesson, not advice. RupeeVerse is not registered with SEBI as an investment adviser or research analyst. A stock meeting a strategy's rules is not a recommendation to trade it, and past results do not predict future ones. Do your own research.