New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- Retail investors borrowing money from brokers to buy shares have been doubling down on some of India's worst-performing blue chips, in the hope that these stocks will bounce back despite steep declines over the past year.

Stockbrokers offer a so-called margin trading facility (MTF) for investors to borrow funds to buy shares. MTF refers to an arrangement where an investor buys stocks by partly using her own money and partly by borrowing from a broker.

Four of the top five stocks in the MTF book by value-Jio Financial Services Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd, and Reliance Industries Ltd-have fallen 13%, 31%, 22%, and 3%, respectively, over the past year, National Stock Exchange data show. Hindusta...