New Delhi, Jan. 7 -- The year just gone by saw a rapid rotation as the winners from 2024 often slipped, and laggards staged a comeback. Will we see another flip in 2026? Will last year's outperformers become this year's laggards or vice versa?

While past performance is no guarantee of future results, a cycle of mean reversion shows that even rotation is selective, driven by valuations and fundamentals.

Also read: Pulse of the Street: Markets glide into 2026 as metals, autos lead the charge

Momentum was hard to sustain among the blue-chip stocks. Nearly six in every ten stocks delivered weaker returns in 2025 compared with 2024. In fact, around 33% of the large-caps that had gained in 2024 slipped into losses in 2025. In contrast, only ...