The long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) opened for public subscription on Thursday, 17 September 2026, even as its grey market premium (GMP) came under sustained pressure over the preceding week, declining nearly 32 per cent from levels seen just seven days earlier. The offering marks a historic milestone — NSE is among the world's largest stock exchanges by derivatives volume, and its public listing has been anticipated for years.

GMP Trajectory This Week

According to market reports, NSE's GMP stood at ₹218 per share on 11 September. It then moved to ₹208 on 12 September, ₹210 on 13 September, ₹208 on 14 September, and slipped sharply to ₹160 on 15 September before falling further to ₹145 on 16 September. On the opening day itself, the premium was quoted as low as ₹125 per share before recovering to around ₹148 by 3 pm IST on Thursday.

Despite the intra-day recovery, the GMP remains significantly below week-ago levels — a decline of nearly 32 per cent over the period. It is important to note that the grey market premium is an unofficial, unregulated indicator reflecting the premium investors may be willing to pay over an IPO's issue price ahead of listing, and does not guarantee any particular listing outcome.

Issue Details and Price Band

The NSE IPO will remain open for retail and other eligible investors until 21 September 2026. The exchange has fixed the price band at ₹1,700–₹1,785 per share. At the upper end of the price band, the total issue size is valued at approximately ₹22,561.57 crore, with 12.64 crore shares on offer.

Notably, the issue is structured entirely as an offer for sale (OFS), meaning all proceeds will flow to existing shareholders rather than to NSE itself. This structure implies no fresh capital infusion into the exchange's operations from this listing.

NSE's Financial Performance Under Scrutiny

Beyond the grey market softness, investors are also likely to closely evaluate NSE's recent financial performance before placing bids. The exchange reported revenue from operations of ₹16,601.31 crore in FY26, compared with ₹17,140.67 crore in FY25 — a year-on-year decline of more than 3 per cent.

Revenue from transaction charges, one of NSE's primary income streams, also contracted during the same period. It fell to ₹13,057.01 crore in FY26 from ₹13,635.76 crore in FY25, a year-on-year drop of approximately 4 per cent. This compression in core revenues is likely to feature prominently in investor deliberations, particularly given the all-OFS structure that benefits only selling shareholders.

Broader Context and What Investors Should Watch

The NSE IPO has been in the works for several years, delayed by regulatory proceedings and governance concerns. This comes amid a broader environment where the Indian primary market has seen mixed listing performances in recent months, making GMP signals more closely watched than usual. The softening premium may reflect investor caution around the revenue contraction rather than any structural concern about NSE's market position.

With subscription open until 21 September, allotment and listing timelines will be closely tracked by retail and institutional investors alike. The listing price relative to the upper band of ₹1,785 will be the definitive test of how the market ultimately values India's largest exchange.