Day's change in absolute and percentage on Kite
The day’s change column on the Kite marketwatch shows how far the scrip has moved from the previous trading day’s closing price. Kite displays both the absolute change (in rupees) and the percentage change, with colour coding (green for positive, red for negative). This article covers the calculation, the column toggle, and the corner cases.
Calculation
For any tradable instrument:
- Absolute change = LTP - Previous close.
- Percentage change = ((LTP - Previous close) / Previous close) x 100.
Where:
- LTP is the last traded price (live during market hours; previous close outside market hours).
- Previous close is the official close as published by NSE / BSE in the previous day’s bhav copy.
Display format
The marketwatch row shows the change in this layout (Kite web):
NIFTY 50 NSE 22,500.45 +125.30 +0.56%
The signs and colours convey direction:
- + prefix and green for an up-day.
- - prefix and red for a down-day.
- 0.00 0.00% for unchanged.
Toggle between absolute and percentage
The marketwatch options menu offers a column-visibility toggle:
| Toggle state | What is shown |
|---|---|
| Both | Absolute (rupees) and percentage (%) |
| Absolute only | Rupees only, no percentage |
| Percentage only | Percentage only, no rupees |
Different traders prefer different modes; long-term investors often prefer absolute, intraday traders often prefer percentage.
Edge cases
Ex-dividend / ex-bonus / ex-split date
On the ex-date for a corporate action, the previous close is adjusted by the action amount only on the NSE / BSE side, not necessarily on Kite immediately. The change displayed may temporarily look exaggerated (e.g., a 5% drop on a 5% dividend day). The adjustment usually catches up within minutes. See How to fix Day’s change incorrect vs previous close for the diagnostic.
F&O contracts
For F&O contracts, “previous close” is the prior day’s settlement price (which may differ from the prior day’s last traded price). The change displayed is from settlement, not from last traded.
Pre-open session
During pre-open (09:00 to 09:08 for equity), the “change” reflects the indicative opening price vs the previous close. The figure can swing as orders accumulate.
Halted or suspended scrips
If trading is suspended, the change shown is the most recent value before the halt. It does not update until the halt is lifted.
Bonus / split day
On the morning of an ex-bonus or ex-split date, NSE / BSE publish the adjusted previous close. If Kite has not yet refreshed this value, the change column will look incorrect for a few minutes after the bell.
Comparison to “change from open”
| Metric | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Day’s change | LTP vs previous close |
| Change from open | LTP vs today’s open |
For an intraday trader, change from open is often more useful (it indicates the intraday trend); for an investor, day’s change is the more familiar headline number.
Why the colour matters
Kite’s green / red colour-coding is the most-glanceable signal on the marketwatch. Many users rely on row colour to assess portfolio direction without reading the numbers. For accessibility, consider that some users may experience colour vision issues; Kite also displays the sign (+ / -) for redundancy.
See also
- How to use the marketwatch on Kite
- How to add scrips to the Kite marketwatch
- How to fix Day’s change incorrect vs previous close
- Absolute and percentage change from open
- 52-week high and low on the marketwatch
- Delivery volume percentage on the Kite marketwatch
- Market depth view on Kite
- Average price on market depth
- LTP under holdings vs marketwatch difference
- LTP difference marketwatch vs chart
- How to fix LTP zero on marketwatch
- Event tag on the Kite marketwatch
- Briefcase symbol on Kite
- Pre-open session
- Circuit limits on Indian exchanges
- Corporate action (India)
- Stock split
- Bonus issue
- Dividend (India)
- Kite (Zerodha)
- Kite web
- Kite mobile app
- Zerodha
- National Stock Exchange
- Bombay Stock Exchange
- Volume (Indian equity)
External references
References
- NSE India, Previous close and daily change calculation, nseindia.com.
- Zerodha Support, Day’s change column on the marketwatch, support.zerodha.com.
- BSE India, Daily price report and corporate action adjustments, bseindia.com.