BSE rides on global rally, revenue streams

Its remarkable ascent positions it as world's priciest exchange, inviting valuation scrutiny from analysts

- KRISHNA KANT

BSE Ltd, India and Asia's oldest stock exchange, is setting the trading floor on fire. The exchange closed with a share price of ₹2,820.10 on July 3, up from ₹860.84 at the end of June last year. Its market cap climbed to ₹1.15 trillion on July 3, up from ₹34,961 crore at the end of June 2024. BSE's market cap first entered the ₹1 trillion club in May this year and it continues to make fresh highs every week.

BSE's market cap is up nearly 20 times since its initial listing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in February 2017. In the same period, its share price rose by 23 times. On its listing day on February 3, 2017, BSE had closed at ₹118.8 to a share and a market cap of ₹5,739.3 crore.

That makes BSE Ltd one of the top performing stocks on the Indian bourses in recent years. For comparison, the benchmark Nifty 50 is up 6 per cent since the end of June last year while BSE Sensex is up 5.5 per cent in the period.

F&O boost However, most gains in its share price and market cap have occurred in the last two years after it made inroads in India's booming trade in stocks, futures and options (F&O). Prior to this, derivative trade largely happened on the NSE, leading to a stagnation in BSE revenues and profits.