Large Cap Stocks List: January 2020

The list of Large Cap Stocks in India is released twice a year – first list in January and the second list in July.

The January 2020 list takes the average market capitalisation of companies between July 2019 to December 2019.

The Top 100 companies with the highest average market capitalisation are called ‘Large Cap Stocks’.

Reliance Industries and TCS are the Top 2, followed by HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

The Top 10 Large Cap stock list is dominated by banks – four of them – HDFC, Kotak, ICICI and SBI.

Large Cap Stocks India

Some frequently asked questions related to large cap stocks:

How do you know if a stock is large cap?

SEBI has clearly defined the difference between large caps and others. The Top 100 companies with highest average market capitalisation for a period of 6 months are categorised as large cap stocks. The average market cap is calculated for January to June (6 months) and the list is released in July. The next list is calculated for the 6 month period between July to December. The second list is released in January.

Is Large Cap High Risk?

Investing in the stock market carries risk, but Large caps are less riskier than mid and small caps. The reason is simple. Large caps are the Top 100 listed companies of India. They are large and well-established businesses. If you have just entered the market and have to buy now, large caps are where you should start.

What is the difference between Blue Chip and Large Caps?

There is no major difference between Blue Chip and Large Cap stocks. Both are big and well-established business, with a huge customer base. SEBI hasn’t defined Blue Chips, so it become subjective. Whereas large caps are clearly defined by SEBI as the Top 100 listed companies.

Is it good to invest in large cap?

Yes. For new investors, large caps are safer than mid and small caps. It’s easier to manipulate the stock price of companies that have low market capitalisation, but it’s very difficult or almost impossible to manipulate the stock price of large caps. Also, since most large caps are well-established and professionally-managed companies – the chance of financial fraud is very low. In short, until you gain 3-4 years of experience in the stock market, stick to well-known large cap stocks.

Is the large cap stock list difference on NSE and BSE?

The large cap list is not prepared by NSE or BSE. It’s the Association of Mutual Funds in India that releases the list. The average 6-month market cap on both NSE and BSE are combined and the average is taken.