BSE Share Market

TABLE OF CONTENT

BSE Share Market India

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was started as the “Native Share & Stock Brokers Association” in 1875, thus making it the oldest share market in Asia. The BSE share market received government recognition in 1956. In 1995, the BSE market migrated from the floor-trading system of share trading to an online screen-based order driven system in 1995. The BSE share market was formed as an Association of Persons (AoP) but it is now a corporate entity registered under the Indian Companies’ Act (1956). As a result of this corporatization and demutualization, two of the world’s best stock exchanges – The Deutsche Borse and Singapore Exchange, became its strategic partners.

The number of listed companies on the BSE share market is over 4700 companies – the highest in the world. The primary index of the BSE market, i.e. the Sensex, is tracked worldwide. The Sensex is an index of 30 stocks representing 12 major sectors of the Indian economy. The tie-up with Deutsche Borse has made the Sensex available to share markets in Europe and America. The Sensex is calculated on a free float market capitalization method.

Apart from the Sensex, the BSE also has 21 other trading indices for the benefit of those involved with share trading. These BSE trading indices include:

  • BSE Mid-Cap (companies with relatively medium-size market capitalisation being traded in the share market)
  • BSE Small-Cap (companies with relatively small-size market capitalisation being traded in the share market)
  • BSE-100 (shares of top 100 companies being traded in the share market)
  • BSE-200 (shares of top 200 companies being traded in the share market)
  • BSE-IPO
  • DOLLEX-200 (Dollar-linked version of the BSE-200)
  • BSE-500 (shares of top 500 companies being traded in the share market)
  • BSE-PSU
  • DOLLEX-30 (Dollar-linked version of the Sensex)

The Sectoral Indices also are of great importance to investors in the share market. The sectoral indices include:

  • BSE Auto Index
  • BSE BANKEX
  • BSE Capital Goods Index
  • BSE Consumer Durables Index
  • BSE FMCG Index
  • BSE Healthcare Index
  • BSE IT Index
  • BSE Metal Index
  • BSE Oil & Gas Index
  • BSE Power Index
  • BSE Realty Index
  • BSE-TECk Index

The BSE, in 2006, launched Indian Corporate Electronic Reporting System (ICERS) to facilitate corporates in sharing their corporate announcements on the BSE share market for the benefit of share traders and investors. It also launched a Directors Database to provide access to share traders and investors with the details of the directors of all the companies listed on the BSE share market. On an average, the daily share market turnover on the BSE share market is over Rs.5,000 crores.

The BSE uses the BSE On-Line Trading (BOLT) to handle more than 5 lakh trades in the share market daily during trading hours. The BOLT is capable of handling transaction of shares, debentures and derivatives carried over from 25,000 trader workstations on a daily in the share market. The BSE has a reach in over 359 cities and towns in India. It is the first Stock Exchange in India, and the second in the world to obtain an ISO 9001:2000 certification.