NSE stock falls below IPO price, wiping out Rs 41,000 crore in investor wealth
Less than two weeks after its stock market debut, shares of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) have slipped below their initial public offering (IPO) price, wiping out all listing-day gains and reducing the exchange's market value by nearly Rs 41,000 crore from its peak.
NSE shares were listed on the BSE at Rs 1,800 apiece on September 24, a modest premium of less than 1 per cent over the IPO price of Rs 1,785.
The stock initially witnessed strong buying interest, rising more than 5 per cent to hit an intra-day high of Rs 1,878 within the first hour of trading. At that level, NSE's market capitalisation touched around Rs 4.64 lakh crore.
However, the momentum proved short-lived. The stock has since come under selling pressure, falling to Rs 1,712 apiece on Monday, its lowest level since listing. The decline leaves the stock nearly 9 per cent below its listing-day high and about 4 per cent below its IPO price.
The correction has also impacted NSE's standing among India's most valuable listed companies. With its market capitalisation dropping to around Rs 4.27 lakh crore, the exchange has slipped out of the top 10 most valued firms and now ranks 12th.
It trails companies including Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, LIC, Hindustan Unilever and Sun Pharma.
On Tuesday, the stock surged 1.53 per cent or Rs 26.35 to close the intra-day session at Rs 1749.85. Meanwhile, the domestic equity benchmarks ended sharply higher on Tuesday as investors accumulated pharma, private banking and oil & gas stocks while awaiting the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting.
The Sensex rose 685.34 points, or 0.95 per cent, to settle at 73,067.81, while the Nifty advanced 220.35 points, or 0.98 per cent, to close at 22,776.10.
