Today, the field is wide open for contrarians. Pick up what you like, the gains are assured and the risk of loss is almost zero. Of course, you should have the patience and the appetite to stomach bad news that could frequent the markets. So what's on offer: Reliance Industries -- price slashed from Rs 159 to Rs 107-110, SBI from Rs 220 to Rs 184, Hindalco from Rs 650 to Rs 406 and so on.

The market has written these scrips off. But they are backed by good earnings growth in the first quarter. What about future earnings? Crybabies will be worried about this, too. But do you think, Reliance, SBI, Ranbaxy etc will actually see their profits dropping? Highlyunlikely -- they have already weathered the storm and reported positive growth in the full year as well as the first quarter.

These blue chips have been swept down considerably by the landslides on the market. The erosion in their values ranges from 15 per cent to 40 per cent, ever since the sensex lost nearly 17 per cent from its recent peak of 3488 on July 16. We have identified only those cases where the fall is sharp and the companies have reported positive growth in results for 1997-98 and the first quarter of the current fiscal. There are 28 such scrips which are actively traded in the Group A of the Bombay Stock Exchange.

So, how much money can I make, would be your next question? This depends on your target return (or greed). It can range from say 15 per cent to even 100 per cent and the wait period could vary from three months to one year or two years. The calculation is simple. From the current level of 2918, even if the Sensex reaches 3,300, you have the option of booking gains in the range of10 to 15 per cent.

When will this happen? May be when the second quarter results start pouring in, which is crucial as it gives a clearer picture of the first half performance. This could begin sometime in mid-October, when punters start discounting the second half results. The FIIs may join, too. To shop at the bazaar, you have to convince yourself that the likes of Reliance, SBI etc will report positive growth in the first half. The rest is a question of exiting to book profit at the right level according to your target.

If you are a long-term investor, compare the current price to the book values of these companies. Most of them are close to their book values. The best choice on this basis is SBI. Its current market price is around Rs 184, a steep discount to its book value of Rs 272. This is despite a 37 per cent jump in full-year net profit and a 33 per cent spurt in profit-after-tax in the first quarter of the current financial year.

Should you buy now or will the market fall further in the nextfew days? You can do both -- keep buying at every fall. Thus, bringing down the average cost and reap a better return tomorrow.

Your options can also be index-based. All that you have to do is identify those scrips which swing with the sensex. Nevermind their fundamental performance, assuming you are adventurous enough. Take steel giant Sail for example. It moves up and falls with the index. Can Sail at its current price of Rs 5.60 go down further? But it will certainly go up to at least 10, if the Sensex starts climbing. That's been the behaviour of this scrip. Here again, the risk is limited. Even if the price doubles after say one or two years (when the recession in steel industry is over) the gain could be as high as 100 to 200 per cent.