Money & Finance › Markets of the world › World stock markets: about $158 trillion, 44% of it in the US
India's exchanges: NSE and BSE (Nifty 50 and Sensex)
BSE 1875; NSE 1994· Institution or agency
Fact, law or dataA rule, statute, definition or measured number.
India's two main exchanges: the National Stock Exchange (NSE), home of the Nifty 50, and BSE, the old Bombay Stock Exchange, home of the Sensex.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
BSE grew from brokers meeting under banyan trees in Bombay and formally began in 1875, Asia's oldest exchange. NSE opened in 1994 as a screen-based rival and now dominates trading. The Sensex (30 stocks, 1986) and Nifty 50 (1996) are the benchmark indexes. Indian shares were worth about $5 trillion in 2025, and monthly savings plans (SIPs) pour domestic money into mutual funds. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regulates both exchanges.
Why it matters
India is the largest emerging market after China, and fast-growing domestic investing cushions foreign selling, though its stocks carry high valuations for their growth.
Facts, rules and data
Exchange and SEBI statistics, NSE investor counts, World Federation of Exchanges data, FIA derivatives rankings, and index methodology from NSE Indices and Asia Index.
Debates and risks
Whether high valuations are justified by India's growth, and how much of the retail boom is lasting saving rather than speculation in options.
Connections (2)
▸India's exchanges: NSE and BSE (Nifty 50 and Sensex) run the world's busiest market in Options and other derivativesFact, law or data
The connection
NSE trades more derivatives contracts than any other exchange, mostly cheap weekly index options on the Nifty and Bank Nifty. A SEBI study found 93% of individual traders lost money from FY2022 to FY2024, more than ₹1.8 lakh crore (about $21 billion) in all. SEBI then raised contract sizes and limited weekly expiries.
When and why
Mumbai; NSE ranked first by contracts in FIA data in most years since 2019, and SEBI's curbs took effect from November 2024.
How we know
FIA annual volume statistics, SEBI's September 2024 study of individual traders, and SEBI circulars.
Debates and risks
Whether big trading firms profit unfairly; in July 2025 SEBI temporarily barred US firm Jane Street, alleging index manipulation, which the firm disputes.
▸India's exchanges: NSE and BSE (Nifty 50 and Sensex) rank among the five largest World stock markets: about $158 trillion, 44% of it in the USFact, law or data
The connection
Indian shares passed $5 trillion in value in May 2024, putting India among the five largest national markets with the US, China, Japan and Hong Kong. Strong earnings, steady domestic inflows through monthly savings plans and a wave of new listings drove the climb.
When and why
Mumbai; India's market overtook Hong Kong's in January 2024 by some measures.
How we know
World Federation of Exchanges and Bloomberg rankings, plus BSE and NSE market-value data.
Debates and risks
Whether India's premium valuations hold if growth slows or foreign investors keep selling, as they did heavily in 2025.