Indian Stock Market : Sensex & Nifty
Emerging markets like India, are fast becoming engines for future growth. Currently, only a very low percentage of the household savings of Indians are invested in the domestic stock market, but with GDP growing at 7-8% annually and a stable financial market, we might see more money joining the race. Maybe it's the right time for outside investors to seriously think about joining the India bandwagon.
NSE & BSE :
Most of the trading in the Indian stock market takes place on its two stock exchanges: the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The BSE has been in
existence since 1875. The NSE, on the other hand, was founded in 1992 and started trading in 1994. However, both exchanges follow the same trading mechanism, trading hours, settlement process, etc. At the last count, the BSE had about 4,700 listed firms, whereas the rival NSE had about 1,200. Out of all the listed firms on the BSE, only about 500 firms constitute more than 90% of its market capitalization; the rest of the crowd consists of highly illiquid shares.
Almost all the significant firms of India are listed on both the exchanges. NSE enjoys a dominant share in spot trading, with about 70% of the market share, as of 2009, and almost a complete monopoly in derivatives trading, with about a 98% share in this market, also as of 2009. Both exchanges compete for the order flow that leads to reduced costs, market efficiency, and innovation. The presence of arbitrageurs keeps the prices on the two stock exchanges within a very tight range.
Market Indexes:
The two prominent Indian market indexes are Sensex and Nifty. Sensex is the oldest market
index for equities; it includes shares of 30 firms listed on the BSE, which represent about 45% of the index's free-float market capitalization. It was created in 1986 and provides time-series data from April 1979, onward.
Another index is the S&P CNX Nifty; it includes 50 shares listed on the NSE, which represent about 62% of its free-float market capitalization. It was created in 1996 and provides time-series data from July 1990, onward.
Market Regulation:
The overall responsibility of development, regulation, and supervision of the stock market rest
with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which was formed in 1992 as an
independent authority. Since then, SEBI has consistently tried to lay down market rules in line
with the best market practices. It enjoys vast powers of imposing penalties on market participants, in case of a breach.