The number
Since 15 June 2026 the Nifty NBFC index has fallen 3.13%, the Nifty Insurance index 6.78% and the Nifty Housing Finance index 8.12%. Those are small moves next to what happened to their P/E ratios: Housing Finance's went from 111.94 to 31.60, and Insurance's from 34.78 to 25.04.
Our record for these four indices starts in June 2026 (15 June for three, 19 June for the Small Finance Banks & Microfinance index), so this post covers about four months. All index figures are NSE's published closes to 9 October 2026, price returns without dividends.
Price since the first day in our data
| Index | First close | 9 Oct 2026 | Change | Last month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty NBFC | 54,339.28 | 52,637.16 | -3.13% | -9.43% |
| Nifty Insurance | 1,911.03 | 1,781.52 | -6.78% | +0.06% |
| Nifty Housing Finance | 766.75 | 704.50 | -8.12% | -6.02% |
| Nifty Small Finance Banks & Microfinance | 1,363.65 | 1,284.77 | -5.78% | -8.81% |
| Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank | 31,284.30 | 29,493.65 | -5.72% | -6.61% |
| Nifty Bank | 57,198.80 | 55,256.65 | -3.40% | -1.85% |
| Nifty 50 | 23,853.90 | 22,520.45 | -5.59% | -3.89% |
None of them is far from the Nifty 50's -5.59%. The notable month is September to October: the NBFC index lost 9.43% in a month, the heaviest fall in the table, after holding up better than the rest until early September.
The ratios moved more than the prices
| Index | P/E, first day | P/E, 9 Oct | P/B, 9 Oct | Dividend yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty NBFC | 23.13 | 20.30 | 3.16 | 0.70% |
| Nifty Insurance | 34.78 | 25.04 | 7.56 | 0.85% |
| Nifty Housing Finance | 111.94 | 31.60 | 1.42 | 0.89% |
| Nifty Small Finance Banks & Microfinance | 233.33 | 23.10 | 1.47 | 0.10% |
| Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank | 22.33 | 19.75 | 3.60 | 0.95% |
| Nifty Bank | 14.39 | 13.10 | 1.66 | 1.13% |
A P/E is price divided by trailing earnings. If the price falls 8% and the P/E falls 72%, as in housing finance, the earnings figure has risen about 3.3 times. For a narrow index with few constituents, a few quarterly results, a base effect from a weak year or a one-off can do that. The same arithmetic applies to the Small Finance Banks & Microfinance index, whose P/E started above 233 and now reads 23.10 on a price that fell 5.78%.
The practical reading is that the early P/E values are not a baseline to compare with; they reflect earnings that have since been replaced. The 9 October values are the ones to use.
What the ratios say now
On price to book, housing finance (1.42) and small finance banks and microfinance (1.47) sit close to the Nifty Bank's 1.66. NBFCs at 3.16 and the Ex-Bank financials at 3.60 are about twice as expensive per rupee of book value. Insurance at 7.56 is a different kind of business, and its P/B is not comparable with a lender's.
Dividend yield tells a similar story from the other side. The small finance bank and microfinance index pays just 0.10%. The Nifty Bank pays 1.13%, the highest of the group, against 1.52% for the Nifty 50.
What the P/E and P/B do and do not show
These indices are young in our records, which means no long-run percentile is possible: four months cannot say whether 20.30 is cheap for NBFCs. For the established financial indices, including the Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services, longer histories are on the P/B pages and in Nifty Financial Services P/E.
For how funds hold these businesses, see bank stocks in mutual fund portfolios and the banking and financial services fund returns. The screener can filter funds by sector exposure.
Frequently asked questions
How have the Nifty Insurance, NBFC and Housing Finance indices performed since June 2026?
From 15 June to 9 October 2026 the Nifty Insurance index fell 6.78%, the Nifty NBFC 3.13% and the Nifty Housing Finance 8.12%. The Nifty Small Finance Banks & Microfinance Institutions index fell 5.78% from 19 June. The Nifty Bank fell 3.40% and the Nifty 50 5.59% from 15 June.
Why did the P/E of the Nifty Housing Finance index fall from 112 to 32?
The P/E divides price by trailing earnings. The index price fell 8.12% but the P/E fell 72%, which means the earnings figure rose about 3.3 times between the two dates. For a narrow index, a few companies' quarterly results can change that figure sharply.
Which of these financial indices is the cheapest on P/B?
On 9 October 2026 the Nifty Housing Finance index had the lowest price-to-book ratio at 1.42, followed by the Small Finance Banks & Microfinance index at 1.47. The Nifty Insurance index was the highest at 7.56.
This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are WealthTicker’s own calculations from public data — AMFI’s fund NAVs and disclosures, NSE’s index and FII/DII files, and the fund houses’ monthly portfolios (how we calculate). They are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.
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