NSE exit triggers sharp slowdown in unlisted share trading

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The value of average daily client purchases of unlisted shares has nearly halved across various platforms since the exchange's listing, according to brokers.

"NSE made up nearly 50-60% of trading volumes in unlisted markets, so with NSE listing, many expect unlisted activity to slow down sharply," said Umesh Paliwal, co-founder, Unlisted Zone.

"Whenever a major unlisted company gets listed, some of the liquidity and investor attention naturally shifts, but another set of companies tends to emerge and take its place. It is essentially a cycle," said Manan Doshi, co-founder, Unlisted Arena.

Trading activity in some other companies has gained momentum. Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI) has emerged as the most actively bought unlisted stock, while Transline Technologies, Quality Enviro Engineers and Sun Drops Energia are also attracting interest. However, none has come close to matching NSE's popularity in terms of purchase volumes, said brokers.

"NSE practically sold itself, since every investor understood an exchange's business model and its dominance," said Paliwal. "With other companies, we'll need to explain the business, the growth story, and why it's worth owning before the IPO. Selling will take more effort, but the opportunity remains."

Hitesh Dharawat, founder of Dharawat Securities, said API Holdings, the parent company of Pharmeasy, Oravel Stays, the parent of Oyo, and Hindustan Power Exchange are among the other popular stocks in the segment.

Unlisted market participants said interest is also emerging in companies such as PPFAS, GFCL EV, MT&T Rental, Prisma AI, Goodluck Defence and Vervesemi.

"While NSE's listing may cause some near-term moderation in volumes, the market is continuing to see interest in the next set of potential opportunities," Doshi said.