India, Sep 25 : The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) made its stock-market debut on September 24, marking a major milestone for the country’s capital markets after years of regulatory and legal hurdles. The exchange had raised around $2.3 billion through an initial public offering that was fully subscribed during the second day of bidding.
NSE shares opened at Rs 1,800 on the BSE, about 0.84 per cent above the issue price, according to market data. The listing was closely watched by investors because only a relatively small portion of the exchange’s pre-offer capital was available for public trading at the time of debut.
The IPO was structured entirely as an offer for sale by existing shareholders, meaning NSE itself did not receive funds from the offering. Ahead of the listing, qualified institutional buyers subscribed 1.32 times their allotted portion, while non-institutional investors subscribed 1.44 times. Retail investors subscribed to 68 per cent of their reserved portion.
The exchange’s long-awaited public listing comes as India’s primary market remains active, with several large companies preparing to tap investors. The NSE offering also adds to a growing pipeline of major listings expected to attract substantial domestic and international institutional interest.
Analysts have noted that the relatively limited public float could influence trading patterns during the early days of the listing. However, the initial market performance does not necessarily indicate the exchange’s longer-term business fundamentals, according to analysts cited by Reuters.
The debut also comes at a time when Indian equity markets are facing pressure from elevated crude prices, global financial uncertainty and foreign portfolio outflows. On September 24, the rupee weakened to 95.96 against the US dollar, while the benchmark 10-year government bond yield rose to 7.11 per cent.