The trading session of Thursday, 24 September 2026 is going to be recorded as a historic milestone in the history of the Indian Primary Capital Market. Equity shares of the country's largest financial market platform National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) are going to make their formal debut on Dalal Street today. Although the informal gray market is seeing limited premium for this mega issue, the long-term outlook of global institutional analysts remains extremely positive. Just hours before the market bell, international financial research firm Macquarie has launched its comprehensive research coverage on NSE by issuing an official investment note. The brokerage has assigned an 'Outperform' rating to the stock and set a 12-month target price of ₹1,965 per share, implying a direct upside of about 10.1 per cent from the upper issue price of ₹1,785. Macquarie calls NSE 'The Dominator': Backed by strong network and operating cash flow, global brokerage firm Macquarie told the National Stock Exchange in its primary analysis report. "The Dominator" Has been awarded the special title of. The brokerage believes that NSE's undisputed market share in the equity cash, options and futures segments makes it the most essential infrastructure of the domestic financial system. The report highlights that NSE's broad financial product portfolio, state-of-the-art low-latency technology stack and unmatched trading liquidity provide it with exceptional operating strength compared to international competitors. The exchange will directly benefit from the increase in trading volumes as the pace of financialization of household savings accelerates in India. Additionally, the company's industry-leading operating margins, strong free cash flow and debt-free balance sheet serve as a strong safeguard for long-term investors. Listing Estimates and Gray Market Indications: Odds of a limited start between 1,825 to 1,830. Indications from the informal gray market just ahead of the listing are not pointing towards a very aggressive premium. According to data released by InvestorGain on Thursday morning, the gray market premium (GMP) on NSE unlisted shares stood at around ₹40 per share, indicating a very balanced and measured listing at the level of ₹1,825. This is the lowest level of premium seen in recent weeks. On the other hand, according to the latest estimates of IPO Watch, the stock is likely to debut around ₹1,830 with a listing gain of about 2.5 percent. Market analysts say the sheer size and institutional allocation of over Rs 22,500 crore has limited excessive speculation in the gray market. Financial experts clearly advise that investors should base their investment strategy on the company's monopoly-like market position, exchange volume expansion and earnings stability rather than momentary GMP fluctuations. Largest issue of the year 2026: ₹ 22,561 crore full offer for sale This public issue of the National Stock Exchange has become the largest and historic IPO of the year 2026 so far with a total valuation of ₹ 22,561.57 crore. The entire public issue was based on 100 per cent Offer for Sale (OFS) structure, under which existing shareholders have disinvested approximately 12.64 crore of their equity shares. Therefore, the entire net proceeds from the IPO will go directly to the accounts of the selling shareholders and no new funds will be added to the company's balance sheet. The exchange had fixed the price band for this issue at ₹1,700 to ₹1,785 per equity share, with the minimum application lot size for retail investors set at 8 shares. The issue opened for primary bidding on 17 September and was successfully concluded on 21 September. 5.71 times total subscription: QIBs place bids worth over Rs 90,000 crore During the three-day official bidding process, the NSE IPO received a strong response from institutional and non-institutional investors from India and abroad and the issue managed to garner 5.71 times total subscription. Valid bids were recorded for about 50.58 crore shares from the market against 8.86 crore shares placed on offer, taking the total cumulative value to cross the ₹90,000 crore mark. According to category-wise analysis, the quota of qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed the most by 12.68 times, while the category of non-institutional investors (NII/HNI) was subscribed 6.55 times. The share of general retail individual investors (RIIs) was booked 1.39 times, which makes it clear that the demand for the issue was mainly driven by large global and domestic funds. Earlier, just before the opening of the public issue, NSE had successfully raised a huge capital of around ₹6,746 crore through top international and domestic anchor investors, keeping the institutional confidence strong from day one.
