Market Breadth Indicator - how many stocks are really participating?
Data as of 2026-10-01 (page generated 2026-10-02): 92% of Nifty 50 constituents are below their 50-day moving average, 8% above. See the full breakdown below across Nifty 50, Nifty 500, Midcap 150 and Smallcap 250.
What this page tells you
An index number hides more than it shows.
Nifty 50 can close flat, or even rise, while most of its 50 stocks quietly lose ground - a handful of heavy-weight names can carry the index even as the rest falls.
Market breadth looks past the index level and asks directly: how many stocks are above their moving averages, how many are below, and how many are moving sharply right now.
That's what this page tracks, live, across four real Nifty indices - the broad-market Nifty 500, the flagship Nifty 50, and the Midcap 150 and Smallcap 250 for the smaller end of the market.
Why it matters
Two numbers do most of the work: the share below 50-day and 200-day moving averages (howbroad the move is), and the share up or down 10%/20%+ in a month (how fast it's happening).
Read together, they separate conditions that look identical from the index alone. High below-50DMA with a low share of sharp 20%+ moves reads as a slow, broad grind - not a crisis.
The same high below-50DMA figure alongside a high share of sharp moves instead points to a faster, more violent sell-off. The index return alone shows neither.
This isn't a signal to act on by itself - it's a diagnostic.
A self-directed investor checking if a drawdown is "just me" or market-wide, an advisor framing a client conversation around real participation, or anyone separating a grinding correction from a sharp crack: this is the data that answers it.
Computed fresh from real price history every time the page loads - not a monthly snapshot that's already stale by the time you read it.
Downside breadth
Index
<50DMA
<200DMA
-10% MoM
-20% MoM
Nifty 50
92%
84%
26%
0%
Nifty 500
84%
64%
22%
1%
Nifty Midcap 150
88%
69%
25%
1%
Nifty Smallcap 250
78%
56%
22%
1%
Upside breadth
Index
>50DMA
>200DMA
+10% MoM
+20% MoM
Nifty 50
8%
16%
0%
0%
Nifty 500
16%
36%
3%
1%
Nifty Midcap 150
12%
31%
0%
0%
Nifty Smallcap 250
22%
44%
5%
1%
Data as of 2026-10-01, page generated 2026-10-02. DMA and month-over-month figures are computed from each stock's own real price history, refreshed nightly. Computed live on every page load, not a monthly snapshot.
CHART
% of constituents below 50DMA / 200DMA, by index
Lower bars mean more stocks still trading above their moving average - broader underlying strength, not just the index level.
Below 50DMABelow 200DMA
CHART
Breadth vs velocity
X-axis: % of constituents below their 50DMA (how broad the weakness is). Y-axis: % down 20%+ in a month (how fast it's happening). Bubble size = index size (n). Bottom-right (broad, slow) reads as a grinding decline; top-right (broad, fast) would read as a sharper sell-off.
An index's own return can hide what's actually happening underneath it: a handful of large-weight stocks can carry an index higher (or soften its fall) while most of its constituents quietly bleed lower. Breadth measures the constituents directly, not the index level, so it catches that divergence.
A high %-below-50DMA/200DMA paired with a low -20%-in-a-month figure reads as a broad, grinding decline - most stocks drifting down, not a sharp crash. If the -20% figure were high alongside the DMA figures, that would point to a faster, more violent sell-off instead.
Questions, answered
What is market breadth?
Market breadth measures how many individual stocks in an index are actually participating in a move, rather than looking at the index level alone. An index can rise while most of its constituents fall, if a handful of large-weight stocks carry it - breadth catches that divergence, an index-level return number can't.
What does "% below 50-day moving average" mean?
The 50-day moving average (50DMA) smooths out daily price noise to show the medium-term trend for a stock. A stock trading below its own 50DMA is in a short-to-medium-term downtrend. When a large share of an index's constituents are below their 50DMA, the weakness is broad, not isolated to one sector or a few names.
What does the -10%/-20% month-over-month figure show?
This is the share of constituents down 10% or more (or 20% or more) from their price 30 days earlier - a measure of how many stocks are falling sharply right now, versus just drifting below a moving average. A high %-below-DMA with a low -20% figure (both computed fresh each time this page loads) points to a broad, grinding decline rather than a sharp crash.
Is this investment advice?
No. This page shows what the data says about current index-constituent price trends - it does not predict future returns, is not a buy or sell signal, and is not personalised investment advice. Punji is a research and information platform, not a registered investment adviser.
Punji provides research and information. It is not a registered investment adviser and does not provide personalised investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
