Nifty 50
Also called: Nifty
The NSE's index of 50 large Indian companies, weighted by free-float market cap. The benchmark most Indian funds measure themselves against.
The Nifty 50 tracks 50 of the largest, most traded companies on the National Stock Exchange. It started from a base of 1,000 on 3 November 1995. Its members overlap heavily with the Sensex, so on most days the two move by almost the same percentage.
The Nifty is also the main underlying for derivatives in India. Nifty options are among the most traded contracts anywhere, and the weekly Nifty options expire on Tuesdays.
Example
The Nifty closes at 26,000. A one percent move is 260 points. If you hear that it fell 130 points, that is half a percent.
Watch out
Nifty Bank, Nifty Next 50 and Nifty Midcap 150 are different indices. When the news says “the Nifty”, it almost always means the Nifty 50.
Learn it properly in
Chapter 1.2: Sensex and Nifty: what the two numbers on the news actually measure