Stock universes - what they are and which to pick

What a universe is

A universe is a pre-defined list of stocks that the screener will search over. Before any of your filters or signals run, the universe restricts the candidate pool. A Nifty 50 query and an All NSE query can produce wildly different results from identical filters.

The 12 available universes

Index-based (5)

• Nifty 50 — the 50 largest, most-liquid stocks. Default for low-risk, institutional-grade names.
• Nifty 100 — top 100, large-caps plus the top of the mid-cap band.
• Nifty 200 — top 200, adds more mid-caps.
• Nifty 500 — top 500. The standard "investable Indian equity" universe.
• Midcap 150 — the 101st to 250th by market cap. Indian mid-caps specifically.

Size-based (1)

• Smallcap 250 — names ranked 251–500 by market cap. Higher growth potential, higher volatility, weaker liquidity.

Derivatives (1)

• F&O (209 stocks) — the SEBI-approved Futures & Options universe. Use this if you trade derivatives — these stocks have the deepest options chains.

Exchange-based (2)

• NSE mainboard — all stocks listed on NSE.
• BSE mainboard — all stocks listed on BSE.

SME segments (3)

• NSE SME — NSE Emerge platform.
• BSE SME — BSE SME platform.
• Combined SME — union of both. Small companies, lower disclosure standards, much higher volatility. Read the SME primer before screening here.

Which one to pick

A rough decision tree:

• Most users, most of the time: Nifty 500. Wide enough to find interesting names, narrow enough to filter out junk.
• Conservative long-term focus: Nifty 100. Skews to large-caps with institutional coverage.
• Mid-cap hunting: Midcap 150. Specifically excludes large-caps so you're not just re-finding TCS.
• Active intraday/swing: F&O. Liquid, with options for hedging or expressing views.
• Looking for early-stage growth, willing to take risk: Smallcap 250 or SME segments.
• Research broad, accept noise: NSE mainboard. Returns ~2,000 stocks; expect to filter aggressively.

Universe changes

The composition of Nifty 50, 100, 200, 500, Midcap 150, and Smallcap 250 is reviewed semi-annually by the index provider (NSE Indices). Stocks rotate in and out based on free-float market cap. F&O list is updated periodically by SEBI.

aftermarkets refreshes these compositions on the same cycle as the index provider. Your saved screens automatically pick up the updated constituent list — you don't have to re-save anything.