About the Nifty 50
The Nifty 50 is the National Stock Exchange’s flagship benchmark index, comprising the 50 largest and most liquid Indian companies across 13 sectors. Together they account for roughly 65% of NSE’s total market capitalisation, making the Nifty 50 the most-watched single number in Indian equities.
The index uses a free-float market capitalisation weighted methodology and is rebalanced semi-annually (March and September). Maximum stock weight is capped at 10% to prevent over-concentration.
Key milestones
- Base: November 1995 = 1000
- Crossed 10,000: July 2017
- Crossed 20,000: September 2023
- 52-week range: See widget above for current high/low.
What moves the Nifty?
The largest sector weights are typically Financial Services (~35%), IT (~12-14%), Oil & Gas (~10-12%), and FMCG (~8-10%). Moves in HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and TCS — collectively about a third of the index — have outsized impact on day-to-day index levels.
Trading sessions
Cash market: 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM IST (Monday to Friday). Pre-open session: 9:00 AM to 9:08 AM. Post-close: 3:40 PM to 4:00 PM.