Sensex Today

What the Sensex actually measures

Thirty large, actively traded companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, weighted by free-float market capitalisation — the shares genuinely available to trade, not those locked up with promoters. It is a sentiment barometer for Indian large caps, not a picture of the whole market, and certainly not of the broader economy.

Why the index can rise while your portfolio does not

Weighting. A handful of the heaviest constituents can carry the index on a day when most stocks fall. “Advance-decline” — how many shares rose against how many fell — often tells a different story from the headline number, and small and mid caps frequently move in the opposite direction entirely.

Reading the daily move

A 1% day is unremarkable. What matters over an investing horizon is the direction across quarters and whether earnings justify the valuation. An index level means nothing on its own; the price-to-earnings multiple attached to it means a great deal.

Investing in the index

Index funds and ETFs tracking the Sensex or the broader Nifty buy the whole basket at a very low expense ratio. For most investors that is a more sensible starting point than picking among the thirty.

Frequently asked questions