Major Indian Stock Exchanges and Indices

India's securities market is dominated by two major national stock exchanges, each with its own benchmark index that is widely tracked as an indicator of the health of the Indian economy.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Established in 1875 (originally as the Native Share and Stock Brokers' Association), the BSE is the oldest stock exchange in Asia, and one of the oldest in the world. Headquartered in Mumbai, the BSE today operates through a fully electronic trading system. Its benchmark index, the BSE Sensex (Sensitive Index), tracks the movement of 30 of the largest and most actively traded companies listed on the exchange, spanning a representative cross-section of major industries, and is the most widely quoted single indicator of the Indian stock market's overall direction.

National Stock Exchange (NSE). Established in 1992 and commencing trading operations in 1994, the NSE was set up specifically to bring modern, fully electronic, screen-based trading to the Indian market (in place of the open-outcry floor trading that exchanges like the BSE had traditionally used), and to extend trading access nationwide through trading terminals rather than requiring physical presence on an exchange floor. Its benchmark index, the NSE Nifty 50, tracks 50 major companies listed on the NSE across a broad range of sectors.