Nifty 50 - Large Cap Stocks on the NYSE

What is the Nifty 50?

The Nifty 50 was a list of stocks during the 60s and 70s which had solid earnings growth and high price to earnings ratio.  Many large institutions recommended these stocks to their clients as life long buy and holds.  The fifty stocks where all large caps on the New York Stock Exchange.  Another reason the Nifty 50 was coined "50" was because the majority of the stocks on the list had price to earnings ratio of 50 or more.  These stocks lost their luster during the bear market of 1973-1974, where these stocks were crushed in a matter of months.  This sharp decline changed the views of institutions on these stocks overnight, and the Nifty 50 was all but forgotten.  It wasn't until after the 87 crash through the late 90s did investors once again buy these stocks for longer term investments and not for quick swing gains.

Nifty 50 Stock List

Below is the list of stocks from the Nifty 50:

American Express

American Home Products

AMP Inc.

Anheuser-Busch

Avon Products

Baxter International

Black & Decker

Bristol-Myers

Burroughs Corporation

American Hospital Supply Corp.

Chesebrough-Ponds

The Coca-Cola Company

Digital Equipment Corporation

Dow Chemical

Eastman Kodak

Eli Lilly and Company

Emery Air Freight

First National City Bank

General Electric

Gillette

Halliburton

Heublein Brewing Company

IBM

International Flavors and Fragrances

International Telephone and Telegraph

J.C. Penney

Johnson & Johnson

Louisiana Land and Exploration

Lubrizol

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M)

McDonald's

Merck & Co.

MGIC Investment Corporation

PepsiCo

Pfizer

Philip Morris Cos.

Polaroid

Procter & Gamble

Revlon

Schering Plough

Joe Schlitz Brewing

Schlumberger

Sears, Roebuck and Company

Simplicity Patterns

Squibb

S.S. Kresge

Texas Instruments

Upjohn

The Walt Disney Company

Xerox