Question

The following table gives cost data of select stock prices on 3rd Dec 2003 in two markets, BSE of India and NQE of Kya Kya island. Closing stock refers to the price at the close of trading hours and opening stock to the price at the beginning of the day. The currency of Kya Kya is # and the exchange rate is # = Rs 11.

Share	Market	Opening Price	Closing Price
SIFY	BSE (Rs)	232	247
INFY	NQE (#)	9.5	10.5
WIPRO	NQE (#)	5.5	6.5
TCS	NQE (#)	40.5	40

Which share and which market showed the highest % increase on 3rd Dec 2003?

• A. SIFY on BSE
• B. INFY on NQE
• C. WIPRO on NQE
• D. TCS on NQE

Hint:

Work out (Closing minus Opening) divided by Opening for each of the four given combinations; a ratio of Closing to Opening greater than 1 signals a rise, and the biggest ratio wins.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Instead of computing every percentage in full, we can rank the four combinations quickly by looking at the ratio of closing price to opening price. A bigger ratio means a bigger percentage gain, since $\%\text{ increase} = (\text{ratio} - 1) \times 100$.

1. SIFY on BSE: ratio $= 247/232 \approx 1.065$, a gain of about 6.5%.
2. INFY on NQE: ratio $= 10.5/9.5 \approx 1.105$, a gain of about 10.5%.
3. WIPRO on NQE: ratio $= 6.5/5.5 \approx 1.182$, a gain of about 18.2%, clearly bigger than the other two so far.
4. TCS on NQE: ratio $= 40/40.5 \approx 0.988$, which is below 1, so this stock actually fell in price and cannot be the answer.

WIPRO's ratio of about 1.182 is the largest of the four, so it gives the biggest percentage jump from opening to closing.

Let's summarize:

• A closing-to-opening ratio above 1 means a gain, and the farther above 1, the bigger the percent gain.
• TCS's ratio fell below 1, ruling it out immediately without needing the exact percentage.

WIPRO on NQE shows the highest percentage increase on 3rd Dec 2003.