Terms and Definitions
Stock market index (Sensex, Nifty 50 and others) – a number that tracks how a basket of shares has moved. The BSE Sensex follows 30 large companies; the Nifty 50 follows 50 large companies; the Nifty Midcap 150, Smallcap 250, LargeMidcap 250 and Nifty 500 follow broader or smaller-company baskets. An index has no “price per unit” to pay: it is a level, and a rise from 24,000 to 24,240 is a 1% gain. This page shows the latest closing level of the index you pick, with the previous close and the 52-week low and high.
What do the six indices on this page cover? – BSE Sensex: 30 large, well-established companies listed on BSE. Nifty 50: the 50 largest companies on NSE. Nifty Midcap 150: mid-sized companies ranked 101 to 250 by size. Nifty Smallcap 250: smaller companies ranked 251 to 500. Nifty LargeMidcap 250: the 100 largest plus the 150 mid-sized companies. Nifty 500: the 500 largest listed companies, roughly the whole investable market.
Price index and total return index (TRI) – the level shown here is the price index, which counts only the change in share prices. A total return index also adds back the dividends the companies paid, so it grows a little faster, and it is the fairer yardstick to compare a mutual fund's NAV against. Use our Index Analysis Tool to see index returns on either basis.
When is the index level updated? – Indices move all through the trading day, but this page shows the closing level, which is final only after the market closes (3:30 pm) and the data providers publish it. So the latest level you see is normally the previous trading day's close. There is no new level on Saturdays, Sundays and market holidays. If one index is a day behind the others, its row shows its own date.
What are the 52-week high and low? – The highest and lowest closing levels of the index in the last 52 weeks, with the date each happened. They show the range the market has travelled in the past year and how far today's level is from the top.
What is YTD return? – Year to date: the change from the last close of the previous calendar year (31 December) to the latest close. It is a plain percentage, not annualised.
What do the 1Y, 2Y, 3Y, 5Y and 10Y returns mean? – The change in the index from the close on the same date 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 years ago to the latest close. The 1Y return is the plain gain or loss over the year. For 2 years and more, the figure is a CAGR (compound annual growth rate): the steady yearly rate that would give the same overall result. Example: an index that grows from 10,000 to 12,100 in 2 years has a 2Y CAGR of 10% (1.10 × 1.10 = 1.21). The date under each heading shows the day the period starts from. Where the history is too short, the table shows “--”.
Why check an index level? – To see how the market is doing, to judge whether your fund moved with its benchmark, to see how far the market has fallen from its 52-week high, and to compare large, mid and small companies over different periods. An index level alone does not tell you whether to invest: returns, risk and your own goals matter more.
Can I invest in an index directly? – No, an index is only a measure. You can invest in an index fund or an ETF that copies an index; these have small costs and a small tracking difference, so their returns are close to, but not exactly, the index's return.
Why are my fund's returns different from the index's? – The index here is a price index with no costs. A fund has an expense ratio, holds cash, may hold different shares, and its return is measured on its NAV (after costs and with dividends reinvested). Compare a fund with the total return version of its benchmark for a fair view.
Where do the index levels on this page come from? – From publicly available market-data feeds of NSE Indices Limited and BSE Limited, read through our own server. This page shows the latest closing level available and its date. It is for information only.
To see how an index has performed over time, use the Index Analysis Tool; to see what a monthly SIP in an index would have given, use the SIP Backtest Tool. To look up the NAV of a mutual fund scheme, use Check Mutual Fund NAV.
Index descriptions are as generally published by the index providers at the time of writing and may change. Index levels are provided for information only.
Nawneet Kumar Panjiyar is an AMFI Registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN 303470) and does not provide investment advisory services in the capacity of a Registered Investment Adviser. This page is for education and information only.
