The S&P BSE Sensex, launched on January 1 1986, now represents around 45% of the nation's market by value.
Leading stock exchange BSE, on Friday, celebrated 30 years of market bellwether Sensex at a function held in Mumbai.
BSE Managing Director and Chief Executive Ashishkumar Chauhan said the 30-share benchmark has become part and parcel of the nation's life and reflects the economic activities and the way the country is moving. The S&P BSE Sensex, launched on January 1, 1986, by the then Bombay Stock Exchange, the world's largest exchange in terms of number of companies listed (over 7,800), represents about 45 % of the nation's market by value.
On the launch day, the index closed at 549.43 points. It scaled lifetime high of 30,024.74 points intra-day on March 4, 2015, while the closing high was 29,380.73 on the same day. The term 'Sensex' or the 'sensitive index' was coined by the Pune-based stock market analyst Deepak Mohoni.
Tracing the Sensex's journey, Asia Index Chief Executive Alka Banerjee said along with economic growth, markets have changed rapidly. "We have seen a big shift in how people save and invest. There has been real attitude change towards investment in securities. We knew this change would happen, as it is natural part of economic growth," she said.
The Sensex has seen 7,203 trading days since its launch till June 30, 2016. There were 3,768 up days and 3,434 down days for the index, as per the data provided by BSE, Asia's oldest exchange.
Historically, Tuesdays were the worst performing day of the week for the benchmark, while Fridays were the best. The Sensex first passed 1,000 points on July 25, 1990. It breached the 10,000 level in February 2006 and the 20,000-mark for the first time in December 2007.
In just 17 trading days, between September and October 2007, the Sensex gained nearly 3,000 points. This happened when the market was reaching its all time high before the financial crisis. Out of the original 30 companies, only six are in the index now -- Reliance Industries, ITC, Hindustan Unilever (HLL then), Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata Steel. The index has undergone as many as 29 changes in the past 30 years.
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