Sensex has the mindshare, Nifty has the market share
The Bombay Stock Exchange is an heritage of Indian capitalism. But over the years the structure has been damaged so much it needs a serious restoration. Ironically, it is looking for regulatory help to tide over the current crisis and institutional support to reinvent itself. By all counts, the 15 year old National Stock Exchange has over taken the 133 year old BSE and is leaps ahead of its competitor. Sensex, the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index and the 36-storey Jeejeebhoy Towers are the towering symbols of Indian capital markets. But the market share is with Nifty and all action is in the derivatives segment of the NSE. The brand BSE seemed to be doing well and the business on the revival path, when the exchange successfully got a valuation close to a $ 1 billion last year. Though rival NSE roped in the largest international exchange NYSE-Euronext as its shareholder, BSE brought in some of the big names, ...