Sensex from 5,000 to 80,000: how long each level took

The climb, level by level

Sensex stood at 4,301 when our daily record begins on 1 July 1997. It first closed at or above 5,000 on 11 October 1999 and at or above 80,000 on 4 July 2024. How long did each 10,000 points take? The answer is not what a round-number list suggests.

Each row is the first daily close at or above the level, not the first intraday touch, and not a promise that the level held: Sensex has since closed below eight of these levels after first reaching them. The record starts on 1 July 1997 at 4,301.

Fastest and slowest legs

• Fastest: from 70,000 to 80,000 took 7 months (14 December 2023 to 4 July 2024).
• Slowest: from 20,000 to 30,000 took 9.4 years (11 December 2007 to 26 April 2017).

The legs are not equal in percentage terms. A step of 10,000 points is a far bigger move from a low base than from a high one, so the early legs that look quick in points were slow in percentage and the late ones the reverse. That is why a level-by-level table is a poor guide to the pace of the market.

Where it stands

The highest close on record is 85,836 on 26 September 2024. On 16 October 2026 Sensex closed at 74,729, 12.9% below that peak and below the 80,000 level it first reached on 4 July 2024.

Reading the table

• Round numbers are a way to read history, not a signal. Nothing about 80,000 makes it more or less likely to hold than 80,001.
• Index levels also say nothing about value; the price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios do. See the Nifty 50 P/E post for where valuation stands.
• This is a price index, so dividends are not included.

More reading:

• Sensex index funds compared
• How long the Nifty 50 took to regain each peak

Source: BSE Sensex daily closes, 1 July 1997 to 16 October 2026.