Retail investor participation in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has seen a significant increase over the past three years, with holdings soaring nearly five-fold from 1.85% in September 2020 to 8.75% by September 2023, according to recent data. Over this period, the number of retail shareholders also rose dramatically from under 400 to more than 7,300, averaging about 500 new shareholders per quarter.
The September quarter of 2023 marked a high point for the NSE, with a record-breaking addition of 1,666 investors. The volume of shares held by these investors also surged from 91.5 lakh to a massive 4.33 crore.
In terms of trading activity, NSE stocks were among the top five most traded stocks in value terms between December 2022 and March 2023. Meanwhile, in the grey market, NSE shares saw a four-fold price increase, trading at about ₹3,200 per piece. This valued the stock at approximately 21 times its FY23 earnings.
For comparison, listed peers BSE and MCX had price-to-earnings (PE) ratios of 122x and 89x, respectively, during this same three-year period. Despite the timing of NSE's public issue remaining uncertain, the surge in retail investor participation signifies growing interest in the country's largest stock exchange.
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