The number
Between 15 June and 9 October 2026 the Nifty Retail index rose 7.72% and the Nifty Power index fell 13.41%. In the same window the Nifty 50 fell 5.59%. The spread between the best and worst of nine newer sector indices is 21 percentage points in under four months.
Our record for these indices begins on 15 June 2026 (19 June for Sugar & Ethanol), so this is a short window. All 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 Retail | 2,834.86 | 3,053.69 | +7.72% | -2.42% |
| Nifty Consumer Services | 3,296.05 | 3,546.70 | +7.60% | -2.26% |
| Nifty Sugar & Ethanol | 2,428.69 | 2,555.62 | +5.23% | -5.63% |
| Nifty Telecommunications | 3,696.97 | 3,826.48 | +3.51% | -1.26% |
| Nifty Commercial & Transport Services | 13,001.69 | 13,083.92 | +0.63% | -2.89% |
| Nifty Capital Goods | 17,000.35 | 16,195.87 | -4.73% | -6.45% |
| Nifty Hospitals | 4,443.48 | 3,998.28 | -10.02% | -11.59% |
| Nifty Construction | 12,727.92 | 11,092.64 | -12.85% | -6.78% |
| Nifty Power | 9,150.73 | 7,923.57 | -13.41% | -7.79% |
Consumer-facing indices (retail, consumer services) held up while those tied to building and power fell hardest. Every index in the table fell over the last month, from -1.26% for telecommunications to -11.59% for hospitals, which has lost more than a tenth of its value since early September.
What each costs, by the numbers
| Index | P/E | P/B | Dividend yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Retail | 209.09 | 7.80 | 0.14% |
| Nifty Consumer Services | 112.51 | 7.19 | 0.20% |
| Nifty Hospitals | 63.08 | 8.38 | 0.17% |
| Nifty Capital Goods | 43.55 | 8.82 | 0.60% |
| Nifty Commercial & Transport Services | 39.69 | 4.71 | 0.71% |
| Nifty Sugar & Ethanol | 25.50 | 2.22 | 0.47% |
| Nifty Power | 18.27 | 2.22 | 1.80% |
| Nifty Construction | 18.22 | 2.25 | 0.97% |
| Nifty Telecommunications | 15.07 | 8.10 | 1.23% |
| Nifty 50 (for reference) | 19.27 | 2.77 | 1.52% |
The ratios fall into three groups. Retail, consumer services and hospitals trade at P/Es of 60 to 209, with dividend yields of 0.2% or less: prices that are very high against current earnings. Capital goods and commercial and transport services sit at around 40. Power, construction and telecommunications are below the Nifty 50's 19.27 or close to it.
Telecommunications is the odd one. Its P/E of 15.07 is the lowest here, but its P/B of 8.10 is among the highest. Heavy borrowing, which shrinks book value, can produce that combination. Power and construction, at 2.2 times book, are cheap on both measures.
The triple-digit P/Es
A P/E above 100 is arithmetic rather than a signal. If a narrow index contains a handful of companies whose combined trailing earnings are small, a modest price produces a large ratio. Retail at 209 and consumer services at 112 should be read that way: they say earnings are thin against price, not that the index is 10 times as expensive as the Nifty 50 in any useful sense. The price-to-book ratio, 7.8 and 7.2, is a steadier guide to how much is being paid for what is on the balance sheet.
What this does and does not tell you
Four months is too short for a view on any of these. A -13% in power could be a sector wobble or the start of something, and the index alone cannot say which. What the table does show is how differently the sectors have behaved inside one market that fell 5.6%: six of the nine did better than the Nifty 50's -5.59%, and three did worse.
If you want the same lens on sectors with longer histories, see Nifty sector indices in the third quarter, Nifty Healthcare P/E, Nifty Energy P/E and capital goods stocks in mutual fund portfolios. Funds that invest in these themes can be filtered on the screener.
Frequently asked questions
Which of the newer NSE sector indices rose since June 2026?
Of nine, four rose between their first close in our data and 9 October 2026: Nifty Retail (+7.72%), Nifty Consumer Services (+7.60%), Nifty Sugar & Ethanol (+5.23%, from 19 June) and Nifty Telecommunications (+3.51%). Nifty Commercial & Transport Services was flat at +0.63%.
Which of these sector indices has the highest P/E?
Nifty Retail, at 209.09 on 9 October 2026, then Nifty Consumer Services at 112.51 and Nifty Hospitals at 63.08. The lowest are Nifty Telecommunications (15.07), Nifty Construction (18.22) and Nifty Power (18.27).
Why do some of these P/E ratios look so extreme?
A P/E divides price by trailing earnings, and a narrow index with a few constituents can have earnings that are small or lumpy. A reading above 100 usually says more about the earnings denominator than about the price.
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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