Skip to main content

Tracking rise and fall of Sensex? But how is Sensex calculated?

Many of us track the rise and fall of Sensex either for planning our investments or for just keeping ourselves updated about the market. But ever wondered what is Sensex and how is it calculated?

What is Sensex?

S&P Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index (S&P BSE SENSEX), commonly referred to as Sensex, is India’s most tracked index to gauge the trend of Indian stock market. It measures the performance of the 30 largest, most liquid and financially sound companies across key sectors of the Indian economy that are listed at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

History of Sensex

Sensex was launched on 1st January 1986 with the base year of 1978-79 and base value of 100. Until 1st September 2003, the Sensex was determined based on the Full Market Capitalization Method, however, from 1st September 2003 it is being calculated as per the Free Float Market Capitalization Method. Free-float market capitalization takes into consideration only those shares issued by the company that are readily available for trading in the market and excludes promoters' holding, government holding, strategic holding and other locked-in shares.

Formulas for calculating Sensex

Full Market capitalization = number of shares issued by the company * market price of the share

Free-float market capitalization = number of shares available for trading in the open market * market price of the share

Sensex = [free float market capitalization of 30 companies / market capitalization in 1978-79] * index value in 1978-79 (i.e.100)

Selection of 30 companies for Sensex

The basket of 30 companies is reviewed by the Index Committee every quarter. Any change i.e. addition or deletion of a company from the basket is announced six weeks in advance of the implementation of the change and takes effect from the Monday following the third Friday of March, June, September, and December.

The 30 companies which are currently part of Sensex

  1. Asian Paints Ltd
  2. Axis Bank Ltd
  3. Bajaj Finance Ltd
  4. Bajaj Finserv Ltd
  5. Bharti Airtel Ltd
  6. Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd
  7. HCL Technologies Ltd
  8. HDFC Bank Ltd
  9. Hindustan Unilever Ltd
  10. Housing Development Finance Corp
  11. ICICI Bank Ltd
  12. IndusInd Bank Ltd
  13. Infosys Ltd
  14. ITC Ltd
  15. Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd
  16. Larsen & Toubro Ltd
  17. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
  18. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd
  19. Nestle India Ltd
  20. NTPC Ltd
  21. Power Grid Corp of India Ltd
  22. Reliance Industries Ltd
  23. State Bank of India
  24. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd
  25. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
  26. Tata Steel Ltd
  27. Tech Mahindra Ltd
  28. Titan Co Ltd
  29. UltraTech Cement Ltd
  30. Wipro Ltd
Follow at - Telegram   Instagram   LinkedIn   Twitter

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Credit Facilities – Lending against Gold and Silver Collateral

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued directions on credit facilities offered by various regulated entities. This article summarises the directions applicable to lending against gold and silver collateral. To whom are the directions applicable? The directions are applicable to the following Regulated Entities (REs) – Commercial Banks  Small Finance Banks (SFBs) Local Area Banks (LABs) Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) Rural Co-operative Banks – State Co-operative Banks (StCBs) Central Co-operative Banks (CCBs) Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) for all layers – Deposit taking NBFC (NBFC-D) NBFC-Investment and Credit Companies (NBFC-ICC) NBFC-Factor  NBFC-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFI)  NBFC-Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC)  Infrastructure Debt Fund-NBFC (IDF-NBFC)  Housing Finance Company (HFC)  To whom are the directions partially applicable? The prudential regulations are not applicable to ‘NBFCs-B...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guidelines on Money Changing Activities (Updated as on May 06, 2026)

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has updated the guidelines on money changing activities. What are the guidelines for appointment of agents / franchisee? RBI had permitted Authorised Dealers (ADs) Category - I, ADs Category - II and Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMCs) to enter into agency or franchisee agreements at their option for the purpose of carrying restricted money changing business i.e. conversion of foreign currency notes, coins or travellers' cheques into Indian Rupees (INR).  A franchisee can be any entity which has a place of business and a minimum Net Owned Funds of ₹10 lakh.  Franchisees can undertake only restricted money changing business. Franchisees of AD Category - I / AD Category - II / FFMCs functioning within 10 kms from the borders of Pakistan and Bangladesh may also sell the currency of the bordering country, with the prior approval of RBI.  Other franchisees of AD Category - I / AD Category - II / FFMCs cannot sell foreign currency. An authorised pers...
Post a Comment
Read more

Credit Facilities – Digital Lending Guidelines

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued directions on credit facilities offered by various regulated entities. This article summarises the directions applicable to digital lending. To whom are the directions applicable? The directions are applicable to the following Regulated Entities (REs) – Commercial Banks  Small Finance Banks (SFBs) Local Area Banks (LABs) Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) Rural Co-operative Banks – State Co-operative Banks (StCBs) Central Co-operative Banks (CCBs) All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) regulated by RBI – Export Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) National Housing Bank (NHB) Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) for all layers – Deposit taking NBFC (NBFC-D) NBFC-Investment and Credit Companies (NBFC-ICC) NBFC-Factor  NBFC-Micro...
Post a Comment
Read more

Highlights of RBI Annual Report 2025-26 – Chapter 1 to 3

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published its annual report for the financial year 2025-26. In a series of articles, we will go through the highlights of the report. This is the first article in the series.  Legal framework for publication of Annual Report by the RBI Report of the Central Board of Directors on the working of RBI for the year is submitted to the Central Government in terms of Section 53(2) of the RBI Act, 1934. The letter of transmittal is signed by the RBI Governor and addressed to the Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Documents submitted by the RBI to the Central Government In pursuance of Section 53(2) of the RBI Act, 1934, the following documents have been submitted to the Central Government – A copy of the Annual Accounts for the year ended March 31, 2026 certified by the RBI’s Auditors and signed by Chief General Manager-in-charge, all the Deputy Governors and Governor. 2 copies of the Annual Report of the Central Board on the workin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Credit Facilities – Finance to Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued directions on credit facilities offered by various regulated entities. This article summarises the directions applicable in respect of finance to Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). To whom are the directions applicable? The directions are applicable to the following Regulated Entities (REs) – Commercial Banks  Small Finance Banks (SFBs) Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) regulated by RBI – Export Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) National Housing Bank (NHB) Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) What are the conditions on finance to NBFCs? Commercial Banks and SFBs The bank shall extend need based working capital facilities as well as term loans to NBFCs registered with the RBI and engaged in infrastructure financing, equipment leasing, hire-purchase, l...
Post a Comment
Read more