Nifty 50 P/E at 19.2: where it stands against history

The number

The Nifty 50 closed at 22,421.95 on 1 October 2026, at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19. Its price-to-book ratio was 2.75 and its dividend yield 1.23%.

These are NSE's own published figures, one value a day after the close. The full series is on our Nifty P/E ratio page.

Low against the last five years

Since 31 March 2021, the Nifty 50's P/E has ranged between 18.92 and 33.61. The median day closed at 22.15.

Only four days in that period closed below today's 19.19, all of them in June 2022, when the index was near 15,300. The low was 18.92 on 17 June 2022.

The price-to-book ratio is the more striking of the two. At 2.75 it is the lowest reading of the whole period.

The dividend yield does not agree with them. At 1.23% it sits slightly below its median of 1.28%. A market that was cheap on every measure would show a high yield, and this one does not.

Why the comparison starts in 2021

On 30 March 2021 the Nifty 50's published P/E was 40.43. One day later it was 33.20, with the index down about 1%.

Nothing happened to profits that day. NSE changed which profits it counts: standalone earnings before, consolidated earnings (including subsidiaries) from 31 March 2021. Consolidated earnings are larger, so the same price gives a lower ratio.

That makes older readings a different yardstick. The record goes back to 1999, with a low of 10.68 in October 2008 and a high of 42.00 in February 2021. About a third of all days since 1999 closed below 19.19. But most of those days are measured the old way, and placing today's number among them overstates how ordinary it is.

What moved: the price, not the profits

A year earlier, on 1 October 2025, the index was at 24,836.30 and the P/E at 21.96.

• The index is down 9.7% over the year.
• The P/E is down 12.6%.
• Dividing one by the other, the earnings behind the index are up about 3.3%.

So the ratio fell because prices fell while profits kept growing slowly. The index is also 14.8% below its record close of 26,328.55, set on 2 January 2026.

What a low P/E does not tell you

It is not a signal to buy. In June 2022 the ratio was this low and the index went on to rise. That is one episode, not a rule. A P/E can stay low, or get lower, if earnings fall.

It looks backwards. The "E" is the last twelve months of reported profit. If the next twelve are worse, today's 19.19 was flattered by a number that no longer holds.

It describes the index, not your fund. A flexi-cap or mid-cap fund owns a different set of companies at different prices.

Where to go from here

The Nifty P/E ratio page has the daily history back to 1999 and a page for each NSE index.

Two guides cover the reading of it: how to read an index P/E ratio, and valuation without market timing. For the selling that sits behind the falling index, see FII vs DII in September 2026.