Research · counted from the record
What missing the best days costs
₹100 put into Nifty 50 in 2007 had become ₹501 by 9 October 2026. Miss only the 10 best days and it is ₹237. But 9 of those 10 best days came within two weeks of one of the 10 worst.
The familiar chart, and its other half
Fund houses like to show what missing the market's best days costs. It is true, and it is half the story. Missing the worst days would have helped just as much.
The useful question is whether the two can be separated: whether an investor can step out for the bad days and be back for the good ones.
How it was counted
Nifty 50's daily closes from 17 September 2007 to 9 October 2026: 4,692 trading days over 19.1 years. Dividends are not included.
Three investors start with ₹100. One holds throughout. One misses the 10 days with the largest gains. One misses the 10 days with the largest falls.
The 10 best and 10 worst days
| Best days | Gain | Worst days | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 May 2009 | +17.74% | 23 Mar 2020 | −12.98% |
| 7 Apr 2020 | +8.76% | 24 Oct 2008 | −12.20% |
| 31 Oct 2008 | +6.99% | 21 Jan 2008 | −8.70% |
| 25 Jan 2008 | +6.95% | 12 Mar 2020 | −8.30% |
| 29 Oct 2008 | +6.85% | 16 Mar 2020 | −7.61% |
| 25 Mar 2020 | +6.62% | 11 Nov 2008 | −6.66% |
| 13 Oct 2008 | +6.43% | 10 Oct 2008 | −6.65% |
| 23 Jan 2008 | +6.21% | 7 Jan 2009 | −6.18% |
| 10 Nov 2008 | +5.89% | 17 Oct 2008 | −5.96% |
| 20 Mar 2020 | +5.83% | 22 Jan 2008 | −5.94% |
Why they cannot be separated
9 of the 10 best days came within 10 sessions of one of the 10 worst. The biggest rallies happen inside the biggest falls: they are the same episodes. And at least 7 of the 10 best days came while Nifty was below its 200-day average, in a downtrend.
So an investor who leaves after a crash to avoid more bad days is, on the record, leaving just before the best ones. Stepping out for the worst and back for the best would need a timing nobody has shown.
The lesson is not that markets always recover quickly. It is that the best and worst days arrive together, and a plan that depends on dodging one will usually miss the other.
Questions people ask
What happens if you miss the 10 best days in the stock market?
For Nifty 50 since 2007, ₹100 became ₹501 if held throughout, and ₹237 if the 10 best days were missed.
When do the best days in the market happen?
Mostly during crashes. 9 of Nifty's 10 best days came within two weeks of one of its 10 worst.
Is it possible to avoid the worst days?
Only with timing precise enough to leave before a fall and return within days. Because the best and worst days cluster, missing one usually means missing the other.
Does this include dividends?
No. It uses the Nifty 50 price index. With dividends reinvested, every figure would be higher, and the comparison would be the same.
Keep reading
Research and information, not investment advice. Every figure describes the past: it is what happened, counted, and not a forecast of what will.