NSE IPO opens amid sharp fall in grey market premium

The much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) opened for public subscription on Thursday, even as its grey market premium (GMP) has come under sustained pressure over the past week.

According to market reports, NSE’s GMP stood at Rs 218 per share on September 11. It subsequently moved to Rs 208 on September 12, Rs 210 on September 13, Rs 208 on September 14, Rs 160 on September 15 and Rs 145 on September 16. The premium was quoted at Rs 125 per share on September 17, before recovering to around Rs 148 by 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Despite the intra-day recovery, the GMP remains significantly below the level seen a week earlier, indicating a decline of nearly 32 per cent over the period.

The grey market premium is an unofficial indicator of the premium investors may be willing to pay over an IPO’s issue price before the shares are listed. However, GMP is not an official market metric and does not guarantee that the stock will list at a premium. The NSE IPO will remain open for retail and other eligible investors until September 21. The exchange has fixed the price band at Rs 1,700-1,785 per share. At the upper end of the price band, the issue is valued at around Rs 22,561.57 crore, with 12.64 crore shares being offered.

The issue is entirely an offer for sale (OFS), meaning that the proceeds from the share sale will go to existing shareholders rather than to NSE itself. Apart from the subdued grey market sentiment, investors are also likely to closely assess NSE’s recent financial performance while evaluating the issue. The exchange reported revenue from operations of Rs 16,601.31 crore in FY26, compared with Rs 17,140.67 crore in FY25, marking a decline of more than 3 per cent year-on-year.

Revenue from transaction charges, one of NSE’s key sources of income, also declined during the period. It fell to Rs 13,057.01 crore in FY26 from Rs 13,635.76 crore in FY25, representing a year-on-year decline of around 4 per cent.

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The Hans India