Kolkata: The period between January and March, 2025 might be a time for turmoil for the Indian stock market, thanks to the tariff whiplash by US President Donald Trump. However, despite the depressed investor sentiments, National Stock Exchange (NSE) registered a massive rise of 115% in the January-March quarter. NSE is the biggest stock exchange in the country which recorded more than 11 crore investors in January 2025.
Incidentally, though NSE shares are yet to be listed in the stock exchange, it can have retail investors, who can buy NSE’s unlisted shares through private placements or over-the-counter transactions. According to reports, the more than doubling of retail investors flocking to the counter has been driven by two factors. One, NSE announced a bonus issue of four shares for each share held in the earlier quarter (October-December) and two, there is an anticipation among the investors that NSE management will be able to launch its much-anticipated IPO after ironing out differences with capital market regulator Sebi.
Drop in price
The drop in price of NSE scrip could have been the bigger contributor to investor interest in the counter. November 2, 2024 was the record date for the bonus issue and post bonus the share price dropped from about Rs 5,400 to about Rs 1,200. This drove a lot off investors to put their money into the stock.
After the spurt in retail investors in the scrip, their number stood at 33,896 — up from 15,771 in the October-December quarter. Their combined stake also jumped from 8.03% to 9.89% between Q3 and Q4 of FY25. HNIs held a stake of 9.64% in Q4, which was also up from 7.6% in Q3 FY25. The holding of domestic firms came down from 11.25% to 5.44% and FII holding jumped from 22.48% to 28%.
NSE has also got an overwhelming market share in the derivative segment. Reports put it at 74% of the derivatives turnover in FY2025. This also signals a big opportunity for gains by NSE.
The wait for IPO getting shorter
Incidentally, NSE first proposed an IPO in 2016. But there were regulatory issues on the way and it is yet to iron out all of them. Reports indicated that Sebi cleared the company of any wrongdoing on the part of NSE. SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta commented on April 30 that Sebi is working towards a resolution of the outstanding issues in the way of NSE’s proposed public issue.
In another development that might boost investor interest, NSE, in the last week of March started electronically settling trades of its unlisted shares. NSE kicked off the listing process by applying for a NOC from Sebi.
(Disclaimer: This article is only meant to provide information. News9 does not recommend buying or selling shares or subscriptions of any IPO, Mutual Funds, precious metals, commodity, any form of alternative investment instruments and crypto assets.)
NSE, the country’s biggest stock exchange, has not only witnessed a big jump in investors in the exchange but also a huge spurt in the retail investors crowding the company’s stock. Markets Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
