Delivery percentage
Delivery percentage is the share of a stock's daily traded volume actually transferred to demat accounts rather than squared off intraday, reported by the NSE at end of day for every listed stock.
The NSE reports, for every stock every session, how many of the day's traded shares were delivered into demat accounts instead of being bought and sold back within the session. `delivery_pct` is that count as a percentage of total volume; `delivery_qty` is the raw share count. Both are end-of-day figures — there is no intraday version, and the data arrives with the exchange's closing reports.
Volume says how much traded; delivery says how much of it stayed traded. The common absolute thresholds are 40, 50, 60 and 70 percent, but the stronger read is relative: liquid large-caps routinely run 40-60% on ordinary days, while some derivative-heavy names live near 20%. Comparing today's figure to the stock's own 20-day average — `delivery_pct > 1.5x avg(delivery_pct, 20)` — catches the deviation, which is the signal. Scans like Delivery surge and Quiet accumulation are built on exactly this.
Delivery measures conviction, not direction. High delivery on a down day can be determined distribution just as high delivery on an up day suggests accumulation. A single high-delivery print can be one block trade, which is why sustained forms — rising for three bars, above 55 for five bars — carry more weight. In stocks with liquid F&O, arbitrage and hedging flows pass through the cash market and muddy the figure.
In Sift
Written as delivery_pct — a percentage, 0-100; delivery_qty — shares taken to demat. A working scan — Delivery well above the stock's own norm, on heavy volume:
where delivery_pct > 1.5x avg(delivery_pct, 20) and rel_volume > 1.50
of the 500 most-traded NSE stocks match today, as of 20 Aug 2026
Scans that use it
Prebuilt scans in the library whose query reads this value — each with a hit-rate replay over the last 250 sessions.
Delivery surge
Over 65% of a heavy day's volume taken to demat. Buyers who intend to hold, not day traders — and a figure most screeners do not expose as a field at all.
Quiet accumulation
High delivery on ordinary volume while the stock grinds above its 50-day average — accumulation without a headline.
Sustained delivery
Delivery above 55% for five sessions running — a steady hand rather than one unusual day.
Delivery-backed breakout
A 20-day high where most of the volume was actually delivered — the breakout with real buyers behind it.
Distribution warning
Heavy volume, weak delivery, price down — the shape of a day traders' exit.
Churn without conviction
Two and a half times normal volume with under 30% delivered — a lot of noise, no ownership.
Money flow accumulation
Chaikin Money Flow positive, price above the 50-day, and delivery confirming it.
Institutional-grade delivery
Over 70% of a ₹50-crore day taken home — size and conviction in the same session.
Delivery percentage rising
Three straight sessions of climbing delivery in a stock holding its 20-day average.
Common questions
What is a good delivery percentage?
There is no universal number. Liquid large-caps often run 40-60% on ordinary days; F&O-heavy names can sit near 20%. The useful reading is relative: a jump from a stock's usual 35% to 70% means something regardless of the absolute level, which is why serious scans compare delivery to its own 20-day average.
Does high delivery percentage mean the stock will go up?
No. Delivery measures how much of the day's volume was kept overnight, not which side kept it. High delivery on an up day reads as accumulation; high delivery on a down day can be determined selling. Direction comes from price — delivery only tells you the day's flows were meant.
Is delivery percentage available intraday?
No. The NSE publishes delivery data with its end-of-day reports, so it is a closing-bell signal by nature. Any scan built on delivery_pct is answering a question about completed sessions, not about what is happening during the current one.