BSE Sensex Index

The BSE Sensex, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, is a value-weighted index made up of 30 stocks sold on the exchange. The companies are 30 of the largest and most heavily traded stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange. They account for one-fifth of the capitalization of the exchange.

The BSE Sensex started in 1984 and modifies its makeup on a regular basis. The index is calculated on a free-float capitalization method, which uses shares that are available for trading and does not include restricted stock.

The BSE Sensex has had a long and profitable run, about 18.6 percent per year or 9 percent a year when factoring the rate of inflation. The Sensex touched the 1,000 mark for the first time in 1990 and hit the 2,000 level in 1992. It crossed 20,000 for the first time in October 2007 and hit a peak of 21,078 in January 2008.

The Sensex began to have trouble soon after its high point was reached. Within two weeks of that all-time high, the Sensex dropped 1,408 points, the biggest one-day drop in the history of the index. That free-fall forced trading to cease for an hour before order could be restored.

The stocks included in the Sensex are: ACC (housing), BHEL (capital goods), Bharti Airtel (telecom), DLF Universal (housing), Grasim Industries (diversified), HDFC (finance), HDFC Bank (finance), Hindalco Industries (metal, metal products, mining), Hindustan Lever (FMCG), ICIC Bank (finance), Infosys (information technology), ITC Limited (FMCG), Jaiprakash Associates (housing), Larsen and Toubro (capital goods), Mahindra and Mahindra Limited (transport equipment), Maruti Udyog (transport equipment), NTPC (power), ONGC (oil and gas), Ranbaxy Laboratories (healthcare), Reliance Communications (telecom), Reliance Industries (oil and gas), Reliance Infrastruce (power), State Bank of India (finance), Sterlite (metal, metal products, mining),Sun Pharmaceuticals (healthcare), Tata Consultancy (information technology), Tata Motors (transport equipments), Tata Power (power), Tata Steel (metal, metal products, mining) and Wipro (information technology).

The Bombay Stock Exchange has the greatest number of listed companies in the world, more than 4,700, and is located in Mumbai, India. It is the largest stock exchange in South Asia and the 12th largest in the world.

BSE Sensex Index Articles - by BetterTrades