First half of 2026 in numbers: the fall and the climb

Six months, three moves

The first half of 2026 had a shape: a record, a fall and a partial climb back.

Over the six months the Nifty 50 fell 8.7%. From the March low it has recovered 6.9%, which wins back about 38% of the points lost from the record.

The rest of the market had a different half-year. The Smallcap 250 rose 6.2% and the Midcap 150 2.2%, and the Midcap 150 set a new record close of 23,073.05 on 22 June.

June itself was a modest month: the Nifty 50 rose 1.4%, from 23,547.75 on 29 May to 23,865.75.

Stocks

From the 30 March low to 30 June the Midcap 150 rose 17.2% and the Smallcap 250 24.0%, against 6.9% for the Nifty 50. The smaller the companies, the bigger the rebound.

Nifty IT lost 30.6% in six months, including 19.5% in February alone and another 9.6% in June. Its P/E is down from 26.65 at the start of the year to 17.26. Of the 120 NSE indices with a published P/E at both ends of the half, 49 rose.

India VIX ended 2025 at 9.48, peaked at 27.89 on 30 March and ended June at 13.60.

Valuations

The Nifty 50's P/E went from 22.75 to 20.58 over the half, a fall of 9.5% against an 8.7% fall in price, so the earnings behind the index rose about 1%. The Smallcap 250 moved the other way: its P/E rose from 29.38 to 35.52 on a 6.2% price gain, mostly because of a single-day change in the earnings NSE divides by on 25 May.

Funds

Median returns, Direct plan, Growth option, month-end NAV to month-end NAV:

The half-year column counts funds with NAVs at both ends of the half. Small-cap funds led and large-cap funds trailed, in line with their indices. The median large-cap fund lost 4.64% against the Nifty 50's 8.7% price fall. The 11 technology funds fell a median 21.23% over the half.

Gold and silver

International spot prices converted to rupees, before import duty and GST. After a sharp rise into late January and a quieter spring, both metals fell hard in June, and gold ended the half lower than it began. Gold is now 22.1% below its 29 January peak and silver 46.5% below its 26 January peak. The fall in gold in June has the detail.

Institutional flows

FIIs were net sellers in all six months, with March (₹1,22,540 crore) the heaviest. DIIs bought more than FIIs sold in every month except April. The biggest FII selling days lists the worst sessions.

The rupee

The dollar went from about ₹89.77 on 31 December 2025 to ₹94.79 on 30 June, a rise of 5.6%. In June the rupee recovered a little, from ₹96.05 on 29 May. Its weakest close so far is ₹96.57 to the dollar, on 20 May.

What this does not tell you

Half-year figures depend on the start date. Measured from the 2 January record, the Nifty 50 is down 9.4%; measured from the March low, it is up 6.9%. Both are true.

Index levels are not your returns. Someone investing through a monthly SIP this year has bought at many of these levels, which is what a SIP started at the January peak works through.

The flow figures are provisional, and metal prices exclude duty and GST. Nothing here is advice to buy or sell.

Where to go from here

The live numbers are on NSE index valuations, gold and silver prices and FII and DII data. The cheapest and dearest NSE indices ranks NSE's indices by valuation as the half drew to a close.