Nifty 50

When we talk about the 'index of a stock market,' it means a stock market portfolio consisting of its securities based on their market capitalization and category. Indexes are crucial because they serve as a representation of a country's market and economy. For example, Nifty-50 is the benchmark index of the NSE (National Stock Exchange) of India. Benchmarks are indices that combine multiple securities to represent a specific aspect of the market.

The Nifty 50 index measures the performance of the top 50 blue-chip companies on the National Stock Exchange, as per their market capitalization. Even though the Nifty index only includes 50 of the 1600 companies that trade on the NSE, it accounts for up to 66% of the NSE's float-adjusted market capitalization (float-adjusted means when an index considers only the shares that are available for investors and not held by other companies or government). As a result, it is regarded as an accurate representation of the Indian stock market. Some of the features of the Nifty 50 index include-

The base year in the calculation is 1995, and the base value at which the index started trading was 1000

The Nifty 50 index is computed using the top 50 stocks on NSE

The selection of Nifty 50 companies is based on the free-float market capitalization

The Nifty index is managed and owned by IISL (India Index Services and Products)

The choice of Nifty 50 companies is made from different sectors

The list of Nifty 50 companies is not static. It is refreshed semi-annually based on averages from the six months' data. The data considered is as per the month ending January and July. Stocks in the Nifty 50 are replaced (if any) on the last trading day of March, June, September, and December. Market participants are given four weeks' notice before they make any changes to the index. The parameters that make a company one among the Nifty 50 companies' list are-

a) The company should be based in India

b) For 90% of the observations for a portfolio of Rs.10 crores, the company's stock should have transacted at an average impact cost of 0.50% or less during the last six months. In simple terms, impact cost is the cost that an investor must pay to execute their buy or sell order compared to the ideal cost of that security.

c) The company's average free-float market capitalization must be at least 1.5 times that of the free-float market capitalization of the minor index constituent. Here, index constituent means a company in the index.

The Nifty 50 stock list consist of the Nifty 50 companies from different sectors (as per the month ending June 2021), including-

Financial services- this sector has a maximum weightage of 37.21

IT- 17.43%

Oil and gas- 11.69%

Consumer goods- 11.10%

Automobile- 5.34%

Pharma- 3.59%

Metals- 3.56%

Construction- 2.66%

Cement and cement products- 2.53%

Telecom- 1.82%

Power- 1.69%

Services- 0.76%

Fertilizers and pesticides- 0.64%

For a company to be included in the Nifty 50, the following criteria must be met:

• The company must be listed on the National Stock exchange (NSE).

• The company must be available for F&O trading to be eligible for Nifty 50.

• The company must have a listing history of 6 months.

• The company must have an average impact cost of 0.50% or less during the last 6 months for at least 90% of observations for a basket size of Rs. 10 crores.

• The company must have average free-float market capitalisation 1.5 times the average free-float market capitalisation of the smallest constituent.

The following are the potential benefits of investing in Nifty 50:

• Diversification- Investment in Nifty 50 provides exposure to a diversified portfolio of companies from various sectors. This reduces risk associated with investing in a single company or sector.

• Liquidity- Due to the significant volume of trading activity, the Nifty 50 is highly liquid. This liquidity makes it easier to trade at competitive prices.

• Market performance- As the benchmark index, Nifty 50 represents a significant portion of the overall market. Thus, it enables participation in the overall market movement and captures the performance of the country’s leading companies.

• Performance record- Throughout the years, the Nifty 50 has shown positive performance in the long run. Based on its historical performance, the index could potentially be a good investment opportunity.

• Investment options- Several investment options are available to invest in Nifty 50, such as index funds and exchange-traded funds.