Markets
Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50
Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 is an NSE strategy and factor index of 50 stocks. Since 2005 it has compounded 18.0% a year with dividends reinvested; over the past year it fell 5.5%. Its deepest fall was 70%, from Jan 2008 to Mar 2009, and it took 2.5 years from that high to a new one.
Written for anyone who holds, tracks or is thinking of buying Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50. Data to 14 Oct 2026.
- Trend
- Downtrend since Sep 2026
- Momentum
- 36th of 133 markets, by rank
- Below its high
- 20.8% total return
- P/E
- 24.0 67th percentile
- 1 year
- −5.5% total return
- 5 years
- 10.7% a year
- 10 years
- 14.9% a year
- Since 2005
- 18.0% a year
- Volatility
- 16.6% past year; usual 17%
NSE launched Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 in Mar 2023. Figures before that use NSE's back-calculated history: today's rules applied to the past, chosen with that past in view. Charts mark the launch.
Returns
Total return counts dividends reinvested; price return does not. Since 2005, dividends added about 2.0 percentage points a year. Returns over more than a year are a year, compounded.
Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50: growth of 100
Weekly, from Apr 2005, log scale: equal slopes are equal rates of growth. Drag the range below the chart to start anywhere; both lines restart at 100.
How to read it. The gap between the two lines is what dividends were worth. It widens slowly and never closes.
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To 14 Oct 2026. Before any fund cost or tax.
| Period | Total return | Price return | Dividends added | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | −2.0% | −2.1% | +0.1 pts | |
| 3 months | −2.3% | −2.7% | +0.4 pts | |
| 6 months | +3.7% | +3.1% | +0.6 pts | |
| This year | −3.1% | −4.0% | +0.9 pts | |
| 1 year | −5.5% | −6.5% | +1.0 pts | |
| 3 years, a year | +8.2% | +7.1% | +1.1 pts | |
| 5 years, a year | +10.7% | +9.5% | +1.2 pts | |
| 10 years, a year | +14.9% | +13.5% | +1.4 pts | |
| 15 years, a year | +18.3% | +16.7% | +1.7 pts | |
| 20 years, a year | +16.8% | +14.9% | +1.9 pts | |
| Since Apr 2005, a year | +18.0% | +16.0% | +2.0 pts |
Year by year
15 of the 20 full calendar years since 2006 ended higher. 15 of them had a fall of 10% or more from a peak somewhere inside the year, so even good years are rarely smooth.
Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50: each calendar year
The worst fall is the largest drop from a peak within the year, with the previous year-end as the first peak (the convention of J.P. Morgan's Guide to the Markets). Total return, %.
| Year | Total return | Price return | Dividends | Worst fall in the year | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far | −3.1% | −4.0% | +0.9 pts | −16.0% | |
| 2025 | −11.5% | −12.4% | +0.9 pts | −24.8% | |
| 2024 | +27.5% | +26.1% | +1.4 pts | −12.1% | |
| 2023 | +52.1% | +50.7% | +1.4 pts | −8.5% | |
| 2022 | +0.5% | −0.8% | +1.4 pts | −19.5% | |
| 2021 | +66.1% | +64.1% | +2.0 pts | −8.6% | |
| 2020 | +33.6% | +31.8% | +1.8 pts | −39.9% | |
| 2019 | −7.4% | −8.9% | +1.5 pts | −20.1% | |
| 2018 | −15.6% | −16.8% | +1.1 pts | −24.6% | |
| 2017 | +45.5% | +43.7% | +1.8 pts | −7.5% | |
| 2016 | +7.4% | +6.0% | +1.4 pts | −19.8% | |
| 2015 | +19.8% | +18.1% | +1.7 pts | −13.7% | |
| 2014 | +74.7% | +72.0% | +2.7 pts | −7.0% | |
| 2013 | +11.7% | +9.4% | +2.3 pts | −20.0% | |
| 2012 | +38.5% | +35.4% | +3.1 pts | −8.0% | |
| 2011 | −26.4% | −28.1% | +1.6 pts | −28.7% | |
| 2010 | +35.4% | +32.8% | +2.5 pts | −14.9% | |
| 2009 | +140.6% | +134.6% | +6.0 pts | −21.1% | |
| 2008 | −63.3% | −64.3% | +1.0 pts | −67.8% | |
| 2007 | +62.9% | +59.1% | +3.7 pts | −15.3% | |
| 2006 | +14.5% | +11.8% | +2.7 pts | −37.3% |
The falls
Every fall of 10% or more from a high, deepest first. The worst, 70%, took 14 months to reach bottom and 16 months more to climb back. Today it is 20.8% below its high.
Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50: how far below its previous high
Weekly, the week's lowest close against the highest close before it, total return, %.
How to read it. Zero is a new high. The depth of each dip is what a holder sat through; its width is how long getting back took.
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Total return, closing prices. A fall ends when the index closes at or above the high it fell from. Calendar time.
| Fall | From the high of | To the low of | Falling for | Recovering for | Back at the high | High to high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| −70.3% | 2 Jan 2008 | 12 Mar 2009 | 14 months | 16 months | 9 Jul 2010 | 2.5 years |
| −50.1% | 15 Jan 2018 | 24 Mar 2020 | 2.2 years | 9 months | 28 Dec 2020 | 3.0 years |
| −37.3% | 10 May 2006 | 14 Jun 2006 | 35 days | 11 months | 29 May 2007 | 13 months |
| −31.9% | 8 Nov 2010 | 20 Dec 2011 | 13 months | 23 months | 2 Dec 2013 | 3.1 years |
| −30.4% | 11 Dec 2024 | 30 Mar 2026 | 16 months | +14% off the low | not yet | 7 months since the low |
| −19.8% | 1 Jan 2016 | 26 Feb 2016 | 56 days | 4 months | 15 Jun 2016 | 5 months |
| −19.5% | 17 Jan 2022 | 20 Jun 2022 | 5 months | 3 months | 12 Sept 2022 | 8 months |
| −16.4% | 20 Sept 2005 | 28 Oct 2005 | 38 days | 2 months | 2 Jan 2006 | 3 months |
| −13.7% | 13 Apr 2015 | 11 Jun 2015 | 59 days | 55 days | 5 Aug 2015 | 4 months |
| −13.5% | 25 Oct 2016 | 21 Nov 2016 | 27 days | 2 months | 1 Feb 2017 | 3 months |
What holding it was like
From every day in its history, what holding Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 for a fixed span would have returned a year. Over five years the middle outcome was 18.8% a year; the worst −1.5% and the best 41.0%; 0% of five-year spans lost money.
Total return a year, %, over every span of that length starting on any session. Spans overlap, so 'separate spans' is how many non-overlapping ones the history holds: the longer the span, the fewer truly independent readings behind each figure.
| Held for | Worst | 1 in 10 worse than | Middle | 1 in 10 better than | Best | Spans that lost | Separate spans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | −63.9% | −13.2% | +14.7% | +75.9% | +193.0% | 28% | 21.5 |
| 3 years | −18.6% | +1.4% | +19.4% | +35.7% | +50.3% | 8% | 7.2 |
| 5 years | −1.5% | +8.8% | +18.8% | +30.3% | +41.0% | 0% | 4.3 |
| 7 years | +8.1% | +12.9% | +18.9% | +22.4% | +35.5% | 0% | 3.1 |
| 10 years | +9.6% | +15.5% | +19.2% | +23.8% | +28.7% | 0% | 2.2 |
Rolling returns, a year
Weekly: the return a year over the 3 and 5 years to each date, total return, %.
How to read it. Each point is what someone who bought 3 or 5 years earlier had earned a year by then. The lows mark the worst times to have bought.
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₹10,000 on the first session of every month into the index itself, from January of each year to 14 Oct 2026. Before any fund cost or tax; an index fund would have returned a little less. Of SIPs that ran five years or more, the weakest started in 2021 (+11.1% a year).
| Started in January | Months | Put in | Worth now | Multiple | Return a year (XIRR) | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | ₹2,20,000 | ₹2,15,827 | 0.98× | −2.1% | |
| 2024 | 34 | ₹3,40,000 | ₹3,28,866 | 0.97× | −2.4% | |
| 2023 | 46 | ₹4,60,000 | ₹5,05,987 | 1.10× | +5.0% | |
| 2022 | 58 | ₹5,80,000 | ₹7,12,923 | 1.23× | +8.6% | |
| 2021 | 70 | ₹7,00,000 | ₹9,65,437 | 1.38× | +11.1% | |
| 2020 | 82 | ₹8,20,000 | ₹14,21,301 | 1.73× | +16.1% | |
| 2019 | 94 | ₹9,40,000 | ₹18,56,382 | 1.97× | +17.1% | |
| 2018 | 106 | ₹10,60,000 | ₹22,33,524 | 2.11× | +16.4% | |
| 2017 | 118 | ₹11,80,000 | ₹26,48,765 | 2.24× | +15.9% | |
| 2016 | 130 | ₹13,00,000 | ₹31,91,528 | 2.46× | +15.8% | |
| 2015 | 142 | ₹14,20,000 | ₹37,99,691 | 2.68× | +15.7% | |
| 2014 | 154 | ₹15,40,000 | ₹46,79,090 | 3.04× | +16.2% | |
| 2013 | 166 | ₹16,60,000 | ₹60,42,542 | 3.64× | +17.2% | |
| 2012 | 178 | ₹17,80,000 | ₹74,99,854 | 4.21× | +17.7% | |
| 2011 | 190 | ₹19,00,000 | ₹89,33,417 | 4.70× | +17.7% | |
| 2010 | 202 | ₹20,20,000 | ₹1,04,60,171 | 5.18× | +17.5% | |
| 2009 | 214 | ₹21,40,000 | ₹1,36,23,033 | 6.37× | +18.3% | |
| 2008 | 226 | ₹22,60,000 | ₹1,61,93,319 | 7.17× | +18.3% | |
| 2007 | 238 | ₹23,80,000 | ₹1,84,61,574 | 7.76× | +18.0% | |
| 2006 | 250 | ₹25,00,000 | ₹2,12,46,101 | 8.50× | +17.7% |
How bumpy
Volatility is how widely daily returns swing, scaled to a year. Over the past year it was 16.6%, against a usual 16.9% for this index. 61% of months ended higher, and 157 days moved 3% or more either way.
Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50: volatility over the past year
Weekly: standard deviation of daily total returns over the past 252 sessions, annualised, %.
How to read it. Spikes come with sell-offs; calm stretches come with rising markets. High readings rarely last.
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| Worst days | Return |
|---|---|
| 23 Mar 2020 | −12.5% |
| 21 Jan 2008 | −9.2% |
| 24 Aug 2015 | −8.9% |
| 8 Jun 2006 | −8.9% |
| 12 Mar 2020 | −8.2% |
| Best days | Return |
|---|---|
| 20 May 2009 | +6.9% |
| 28 Oct 2008 | +6.8% |
| 18 May 2009 | +5.9% |
| 23 Jan 2008 | +5.8% |
| 9 Jun 2006 | +5.5% |
| Worst months | Return |
|---|---|
| Mar 2020 | −29.1% |
| Oct 2008 | −27.2% |
| Jan 2008 | −19.8% |
| Sept 2008 | −17.2% |
| Jun 2008 | −15.1% |
| Best months | Return |
|---|---|
| May 2009 | +38.1% |
| Apr 2009 | +20.6% |
| Dec 2007 | +19.1% |
| Apr 2020 | +14.3% |
| Apr 2026 | +14.1% |
Valuation
NSE's own price-to-earnings, price-to-book and dividend yield, at each month-end since Aug 2026. Today's P/E of 24.0 is in the middle of its range since NSE moved to consolidated earnings in March 2021. Price to book, 4.44, is in the middle of its range over the full history.
Price to earnings
Month-ends, as NSE publishes them.
How to read it. Higher is dearer. Before March 2021 NSE used standalone earnings, so readings on either side of the line are not strictly comparable.
Price to earnings. Line chart, Aug 2026 to Oct 2026. Price to earnings: latest 24.0×, range 24.0× to 24.9×.
Price to book
Month-ends, as NSE publishes them.
How to read it. Higher is dearer. Book value has no accounting break, so the whole history compares.
Price to book. Line chart, Aug 2026 to Oct 2026. Price to book: latest 4.44×, range 4.43× to 4.78×.
Today is 14 Oct 2026; the history is month-ends. A percentile is the share of month-ends at or below today's reading: 90 means dearer than nine months in ten (for dividend yield, the reverse).
| Today | Percentile, full history | Last 10 years | Since March 2021 | Median | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price to earnings | 24.01 | 67 | – | – | 24.01 | 23.96 | 24.89 |
| Price to book | 4.44 | 67 | – | – | 4.44 | 4.43 | 4.78 |
| Dividend yield, % | 1.52 | 100 | – | – | 1.08 | 1.04 | 1.52 |
What it holds
50 stocks as NSE lists them today. The ten largest make up 35.7% of the index. It is weighted by tilt weighted and rebalanced twice a year.
Sector weights
NSE's factsheet, 30 Sept 2026. % of the index.
How to read it. Sectors as NSE classifies them. A sector index of one industry has no split to show.
Sector weights. Bar chart of 15 items. Weight, %: highest Financial Services at 27.3%, lowest Telecommunication at 0.9%.
NSE's factsheet, 30 Sept 2026. NSE publishes the weights of the ten largest members only.
| Largest holdings | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anand Rathi Wealth Ltd. | 5.23% |
| 2 | Computer Age Management Services Ltd. | 4.49% |
| 3 | Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd. | 4.20% |
| 4 | Central Depository Services (India) Ltd. | 3.91% |
| 5 | Castrol India Ltd. | 3.59% |
| 6 | Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. | 3.32% |
| 7 | Dr. Lal Path Labs Ltd. | 3.10% |
| 8 | Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. | 3.07% |
| 9 | Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd. | 2.45% |
| 10 | Gillette India Ltd. | 2.31% |
NSE's constituent list for Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50, as seen on 14 Oct 2026. NSE changes members at each rebalance.
| Member | Industry | NSE symbol | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| Action Construction Equipment Ltd. | Capital Goods | ACE | |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. | Financial Services | ABSLAMC | |
| Affle 3i Ltd. | Information Technology | AFFLE | |
| Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd. | Automobile and Auto Components | ARE&M | |
| Anand Rathi Wealth Ltd. | Financial Services | ANANDRATHI | |
| Angel One Ltd. | Financial Services | ANGELONE | |
| Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd. | Financial Services | APTUS | |
| BLS International Services Ltd. | Consumer Services | BLS | |
| Birlasoft Ltd. | Information Technology | BSOFT | |
| C.E. Info Systems Ltd. | Information Technology | MAPMYINDIA | |
| Castrol India Ltd. | Oil Gas & Consumable Fuels | CASTROLIND | |
| Central Depository Services (India) Ltd. | Financial Services | CDSL | |
| Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. | Chemicals | CHAMBLFERT | |
| Clean Science and Technology Ltd. | Chemicals | CLEAN | |
| Computer Age Management Services Ltd. | Financial Services | CAMS | |
| Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. | Consumer Durables | CROMPTON | |
| Cyient Ltd. | Information Technology | CYIENT | |
| Dr. Lal Path Labs Ltd. | Healthcare | LALPATHLAB | |
| Elgi Equipments Ltd. | Capital Goods | ELGIEQUIP | |
| Emami Ltd. | Fast Moving Consumer Goods | EMAMILTD | |
| Engineers India Ltd. | Construction | ENGINERSIN | |
| Finolex Cables Ltd. | Capital Goods | FINCABLES | |
| Gillette India Ltd. | Fast Moving Consumer Goods | GILLETTE | |
| Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd. | Capital Goods | GPIL | |
| Gravita India Ltd. | Metals & Mining | GRAVITA | |
| Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd. | Chemicals | HSCL | |
| Home First Finance Company India Ltd. | Financial Services | HOMEFIRST | |
| Indiamart Intermesh Ltd. | Consumer Services | INDIAMART | |
| Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. | Financial Services | IEX | |
| Indraprastha Gas Ltd. | Oil Gas & Consumable Fuels | IGL | |
| JSW Dulux Ltd. | Consumer Durables | JSWDULUX | |
| Kajaria Ceramics Ltd. | Consumer Durables | KAJARIACER | |
| Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. | Financial Services | KARURVYSYA | |
| LT Foods Ltd. | Fast Moving Consumer Goods | LTFOODS | |
| Latent View Analytics Ltd. | Information Technology | LATENTVIEW | |
| Mahanagar Gas Ltd. | Oil Gas & Consumable Fuels | MGL | |
| Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd. | Automobile and Auto Components | MSUMI | |
| NATCO Pharma Ltd. | Healthcare | NATCOPHARM | |
| Poly Medicure Ltd. | Healthcare | POLYMED | |
| RITES Ltd. | Construction | RITES | |
| Railtel Corporation Of India Ltd. | Telecommunication | RAILTEL | |
| Saregama India Ltd | Media Entertainment & Publication | SAREGAMA | |
| Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd. | Automobile and Auto Components | SONACOMS | |
| Sonata Software Ltd. | Information Technology | SONATSOFTW | |
| Sun TV Network Ltd. | Media Entertainment & Publication | SUNTV | |
| Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd. | Construction | TECHNOE | |
| Triveni Turbine Ltd. | Capital Goods | TRITURBINE | |
| ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India Ltd. | Automobile and Auto Components | ZFCVINDIA | |
| Zensar Technolgies Ltd. | Information Technology | ZENSARTECH | |
| eClerx Services Ltd. | Services | ECLERX |
Against the Nifty 500
How Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 has done against the broad market it is part of. Over 21 years it beat the Nifty 500 by 4.0 percentage points a year, and was ahead in 12 of 20 calendar years.
Relative strength
Weekly: Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50's total return divided by the Nifty 500's, 100 at the start of the range shown.
How to read it. Rising: Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 is outrunning the Nifty 500. Falling: it is lagging. The level means nothing; the direction is the reading.
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Three-year lead or lag
Weekly: Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50's return a year over the past three years minus the Nifty 500's, percentage points.
How to read it. Above zero, someone who bought three years earlier was ahead of the broad index; below, behind.
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Monthly total returns. Up capture: how much of the Nifty 500's gain in its rising months this index caught (100 is all of it); down capture: the same for falling months. Beta above 1 means bigger swings than the Nifty 500.
| Ahead by, a year | Up capture | Down capture | Beta | Correlation | Tracking error | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full history, from May 2005 | +4.0 pts | 109 | 98 | 1.02 | 0.89 | 11.4% |
| Last 5 years, from Oct 2021 | +2.7 pts | 113 | 104 | 1.15 | 0.87 | 9.7% |
Models and ETFs
No Tipsheet model uses Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50. No ETF listed on NSE tracks it. Its trend and momentum have a page of their own.
Data and sources
Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 is computed and published by NSE Indices. History here starts 1 Apr 2005; NSE launched the index on 15 Mar 2023, from a base date of April 01, 2005. All returns are on NSE's total-return index unless marked as price return.
Historical index data. NSE publishes daily index values, total-return values and P/E, P/B and dividend yield for every index on niftyindices.com: historical data. Pick Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 there to download its full series.
- Nifty Smallcap250 Quality 50 on niftyindices.com: description and methodology
- NSE's monthly factsheet (PDF)
- Current constituents (CSV)
- The weekly series on this page (JSON): growth of 100, drawdown, volatility and rolling returns
Index values themselves are NSE's and are not republished here; the charts show growth of 100 and other figures computed from them.
The workings
The question
Data
Every chart has a table view, a CSV download and a link to its published JSON. Bundles are listed in data status.