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Nifty stands for 'No Income For This Year', an investment adviser SMSed after the National Stock Exchange 50-stock benchmark index lost 96 points and closed at the lowest level this year of 4040 on Monday.

The Sensex plunged 340 points to its 2008 low of 13,461.

Exactly at the mid-point of 2008, the indices have lost a third of their new year's day value.

Only an improbable 50% plus rise from here can prove the SMS wrong.

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Not only this year, the markets' six-month losing spree has taken many investors back to square one: the beginning of the bull market in 2003.

That is 'No Income For Five Years'. Valuations of many stocks have dropped to levels seen after the dotcom crash in 2001, say experts.

Indices though are marginally above the all-time low price-earnings ratio of 12.6 times seen in those days.

This nadir could attract some buying by international funds is the Street's hope. Price-earnings ratio is the factor of price of the stock and the company's earnings and is a parameter widely used by analysts for valuing stocks.

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Amitabh Chakraborty, president, equities, Religare securities, agrees things are back to where they started in 2003.

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"But we believe we are in the last phase of selling and a bottom is likely at 12,000 on the Sensex or 3,800 on the Nifty. During the last bear phase, the stocks plunged from a trailing price-earnings ratio of 28.5 times in February 2000 to 12.6 times in September 2001. Similarly, in January 2008 we were quoting at 28.5 times and at 12,000, we would be back to the all time PE of 12.6 times, that could bring in the long-term buyers."

Chakraborty said oil, which is on fire at over $142, is also on its last leg of rise and will cool down soon, facilitating the recovery of stocks.