kiruthika
The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) lists on the stock market on Thursday, September 24, after nearly ten years of regulatory delays. The basis of allotment was finalised on Tuesday, September 22, and trading in the shares is scheduled to begin on BSE at 10 am on September 24.
NSE is not listing on its own platform. Rules do not allow an exchange to list on itself, so its shares will trade on its main rival, BSE.
The IPO in numbers
At ₹22,562 crore, this is the largest public issue of 2026 and the second-largest ever in India, behind only Hyundai’s ₹27,870-crore IPO. Bidding ran from September 17 to 21, with a price band of ₹1,700 to ₹1,785 per share.
The issue was subscribed 5.71 times overall. Investors bid for 505.8 million shares against the 88.6 million on offer.
Demand came mostly from large investors:
- The qualified institutional buyer (QIB) portion was subscribed 12.68 times.
- The non-institutional investor portion was subscribed 6.55 times.
- The retail portion was subscribed 1.39 times.
Before the issue opened, NSE raised ₹6,746 crore from about 189 anchor investors. They included LIC, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
The entire issue is an offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders. NSE issues no new shares and receives none of the money raised.
The institutional investors who sold together held 36.82% of NSE before the IPO. They sold shares equal to a 5.11% stake, so most of them remain significant shareholders.
At the price band, the implied valuation of NSE is about ₹4.2 lakh crore to ₹4.4 lakh crore.
Grey market expectations
Trading ahead of listing points to a modest debut. As of 2:24 pm IST on September 23, the grey market premium was ₹68 per share, down from ₹310 before the issue opened. That suggests a listing price of about ₹1,853, roughly 3.8% above the issue price.
Grey market figures are unofficial and unregulated. They often differ from one tracker to another and do not reliably predict the actual listing price.
Why this listing matters
NSE is central to how India trades. In FY26 it handled:
- 92.99% of equity cash market turnover
- 99.79% of equity futures
- 74.71% of equity options by premium value
After listing, investors will be able to own a direct stake in that infrastructure. NSE will also have to make regular public disclosures, which gives investors more visibility into an institution that sits at the centre of the Indian market.
The business also carries clear risks:
- Dependence on trading activity. About 79% of NSE’s revenue is tied to trading, so earnings rise and fall with market volumes and regulatory changes.
- Customer concentration. Its top ten trading members accounted for 46.78% of operating revenue in FY26.
On valuation, the IPO was priced at about 40.9x to 42.9x FY26 diluted earnings. BSE, the only listed exchange for comparison, trades at 54.28x.
Financial performance
FY26 figures show some pressure on NSE’s earnings:
- Consolidated total income fell to ₹18,713 crore from ₹19,177 crore in FY25.
- Profit after tax was ₹10,302 crore.
A ₹1,391.21-crore provision to settle the co-location and dark fibre cases explains part of the decline. It does not explain all of it. Normalised operating EBITDA also fell, from ₹13,317 crore to ₹12,656 crore, as trading activity cooled.
Results for the latest quarter were better. Consolidated net profit for the June 2026 quarter was ₹3,120 crore, up from ₹2,923 crore a year earlier.
A decade-long road to listing
NSE first filed IPO papers in December 2016, aiming to raise about ₹10,000 crore. It did not get regulatory clearance while investigations were ongoing.
The main obstacle was the co-location case. In 2015 it came to light that some brokers had servers placed physically closer to NSE’s trading engines. SEBI treated this as a serious lapse in NSE’s oversight of its own systems.
The main steps toward the listing:
- 2025: NSE filed settlement applications with SEBI to resolve the long-running cases.
- June 2026: NSE filed a fresh draft prospectus.
- July 31, 2026: NSE paid ₹714.74 crore to SEBI.
- September 3, 2026: The Supreme Court disposed of the dark fibre appeals.
- September 4, 2026: SEBI issued its observations on the draft prospectus.
According to the prospectus, applications to close the co-location appeals were still awaiting a hearing.
What to watch next
- Listing day. Watch the opening price and how the stock trades through its first session. Retail subscription was lukewarm, so early trading will show whether demand extends beyond institutions.
- Trading volumes. Derivatives activity drives much of NSE’s earnings, and regulators have been tightening rules in that segment.
- Legal overhang. The pending co-location appeals still need to be resolved.
- First results as a listed company. NSE’s first quarterly report will be the first real test of how the market values it.
- BSE comparison. Investors will judge NSE’s valuation against BSE, which has been India’s only listed exchange until now.
Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment advice. NSE shares have no official market price until listing on September 24, 2026. Grey market figures were recorded at 2:24 pm IST on September 23, 2026.
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