SENSEX - ECONOMY

News: Adani Ports to enter Sensex: How India’s major stock indices work

 

What's in the news?

       Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) is set to be included in the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange, replacing Wipro.

 

Sensex:

       Sensex, otherwise known as the S&P BSE Sensex index, is the benchmark index of India’s BSE, formerly known as the Bombay Stock Exchange.

       Created in 1986, the Sensex is the oldest stock index in India.

 

Key Features:

       It is designed to measure the performance of the 30 largest, most liquid, and financially sound companies across key sectors of the Indian economy that are listed at BSE Ltd.

       The index’s composition is reviewed in June and December each year.

       Analysts and investors use it to observe the cycles of India’s economy and the development and decline of particular industries.

       As such, even though the Sensex is composed of only 30 stocks, investors make decisions to buy or sell based on the movement of the Sensex.

       The total market capitalisation, or the total value of all listed shares, of BSE-listed firms is Rs 419.99 lakh crore (May 24).

 

Criteria for Selection of Companies in NSE:

To be considered for selection, a stock must satisfy certain requirements such as

       It must have a listing history of at least six months at BSE.

       It should have traded on every trading day at the BSE during this six-month reference period.

       To be eligible, the stock should have a derivative contract, that is, an agreement between two parties to buy or sell any form of security at a certain price in the future.

       The company must be among the top 75 companies based on their average three-month float or total market cap.

       It should have a minimum free-float market cap of 0.50% after market cap and liquidity criteria are met.

       In terms of liquidity, the cumulative weight of the three-month average daily value traded (ADVT) is calculated for companies that meet the eligibility requirements.

       Any prospective constituents with a total weight of ADVT greater than 98% are excluded from the index.

 

Difference between Sensex and Nifty:

       The difference lies in the number of stocks that each index tracks.

       While the Sensex constitutes 30 companies trading on the BSE, the Nifty 50 is a broad-based index consisting of 50 blue chip large and liquid stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).

       The Nifty 50 was started in 1995. It includes companies such as Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Finance, and Coal India.

 

Go back to basics:

Global Indices:

       Global indices, similar to the BSE Sensex, serve as barometers for the stock market performance in different countries and regions.

 

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA):

       Represents 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ.

NASDAQ Composite:

       An index of more than 2,500 stocks of both domestic and international technology and biotech companies listed on the NASDAQ stock market.

 

S&P 500:

       A market-capitalization-weighted index of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S.

 

FTSE 100:

       An index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization.

 

Nikkei 225:

       The leading index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, representing the top 225 blue-chip companies in Japan.