Thursday, October 30, 2008

BSE Sensex - The Capital Market Index of India

Till the decade of eighties, there was no measure or scale that could precisely measure the various ups and downs in the Indian stock market. BSE, in 1986, came out with a Stock Index-SENSEX- that subsequently became the barometer of the Indian stock market.The launch of SENSEX in 1986 was later followed up in January 1989 by introduction of BSE National Index (Base: 1983-84 = 100). It comprised 100 stocks listed at five major stock exchanges in India - Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Madras. The BSE National Index was renamed BSE-100 Index from October 14, 1996 and since then, it is being calculated taking into consideration only the prices of stocks listed at BSE. BSE launched the dollar-linked version of BSE-100 index on May 22, 2006.
With a view to provide a better representation of the increasing number of listed companies, larger market capitalization and the new industry sectors, BSE launched on 27th May, 1994 two new index series viz., the 'BSE-200' and the 'DOLLEX-200'. Since then, BSE has come a long way in attuning itself to the varied needs of investors and market participants. In order to fulfill the need for still broader, segment-specific and sector-specific indices, BSE has continuously been increasing the range of its indices. BSE-500 Index and 5 sectoral indices were launched in 1999. In 2001, BSE launched BSE-PSU Index, DOLLEX-30 and the country's first free-float based index - the BSE TECk Index. The values of all BSE indices are updated every 15 seconds during market hours and displayed through the BOLT system, BSE website and news wire agencies.All BSE Indices are reviewed periodically by the BSE Index Committee. This Committee which comprises eminent independent finance professionals frames the broad policy guidelines for the development and maintenance of all BSE indices.
SENSEX, first compiled in 1986, was calculated on a "Market Capitalization-Weighted" methodology of 30 component stocks representing large, well-established and financially sound companies across key sectors. The base year of SENSEX was taken as 1978-79. SENSEX today is widely reported in both domestic and international markets through print as well as electronic media. It is scientifically designed and is based on globally accepted construction and review methodology. Since September 1, 2003, SENSEX is being calculated on a free-float market capitalization methodology. The "free-float market capitalization-weighted" methodology is a widely followed index construction methodology on which majority of global equity indices are based; all major index providers like MSCI, FTSE, STOXX, S&P and Dow Jones use the free-float methodology. Free-float methodology refers to an index construction methodology that takes into consideration only the free-float market capitalization of a company for the purpose of index calculation and assigning weight to stocks in the index. Free-float market capitalization takes into consideration only those shares issued by the company that are readily available for trading in the market. It generally excludes promoters' holding, government holding, strategic holding and other locked-in shares that will not come to the market for trading in the normal course. In other words, the market capitalization of each company in a free-float index is reduced to the extent of its readily available shares in the market.
SENSEX is calculated using the "Free-float Market Capitalization" methodology, wherein, the level of index at any point of time reflects the free-float market value of 30 component stocks relative to a base period. The market capitalization of a company is determined by multiplying the price of its stock by the number of shares issued by the company. This market capitalization is further multiplied by the free-float factor to determine the free-float market capitalization.The base period of SENSEX is 1978-79 and the base value is 100 index points. This is often indicated by the notation 1978-79=100. The calculation of SENSEX involves dividing the free-float market capitalization of 30 companies in the Index by a number called the Index Divisor. The Divisor is the only link to the original base period value of the SENSEX. It keeps the Index comparable over time and is the adjustment point for all Index adjustments arising out of corporate actions, replacement of scrips etc. During market hours, prices of the index scrips, at which latest trades are executed, are used by the trading system to calculate SENSEX every 15 seconds.
Dollex-30BSE also calculates a dollar-linked version of SENSEX and historical values of this index are available since its inception. BSE introduced the new index series called 'BSE Mid-Cap' index and 'BSE Small-Cap' index to track the performance of companies with relatively smaller market capitalization.BSE-500 Index - represents more than 93% of the listed universe. Companies with large market capitalization bias the movement of BSE-500 index. This necessitated construction of a separate indicator to capture the trend in companies with lower market capitalization. Over the years, BSE Mid-Cap and BSE Small-Cap indices have proven to be a great utility to the investing community

(Thanks to Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd., Mumbai)

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