GETTING STARTED IN STOCK MARKET

National stock exchange (NSE) was established in India in 1994 to provide a more transparent alternative to the stock exchange, mumbai. The NSE is a national exchange integrating the country's stock markets through nationwide automated on-line screen operations and electronic clearing and settlement.

Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in Asia. It is located at Dalal Street, Mumbai, India. It was established in 1875. There are around 3,500 Indian companies listed with the stock exchange, and has a significant trading volume. As of 2005, it is among the 5 biggest stock exchanges in the world in terms of transactions volume. Along with the NSE, the companies listed on the BSE have a combined market capitalization of US$ 125.5 billion.

There are other stock exchanges like the Calcutta Stock Exchange etc. but they are not as popular as the BSE and the NSE. Most of the stock trading in the country is done though the BSE & the NSE.

What is Sensex and Nifty?

The Sensex is an "index". What is an index? An index is basically an indicator. It gives you a general idea about whether most of the stocks have gone up or down. The Sensex is an indicator of all the major companies of the BSE. The Nifty is an indicator of all the major companies of the NSE.

If the Sensex goes up, it means that the prices of the stocks of most of the major companies on the BSE have gone up. If the Sensex goes down, this tells you that the stock price of most of the major stocks on the BSE have gone down.

Just like the Sensex represents the top stocks of the BSE, the Nifty represents the top stocks of the NSE. Besides Sensex and the Nifty there are many other indexes. There is an index that gives you an idea about whether the mid-cap stocks go up or down. This is called the “BSE Mid-cap Index”. There are also many other types of indexes.