NSE shares declined 1.6% to their day’s low of Rs 1,790 on the BSE on Friday, a day after the exchange made its much-awaited stock market debut on Thursday, marking India’s second-largest IPO. The stock listed at a 0.8% premium to its issue price and ended the session more than 1% higher.

NSE’s post-listing market capitalisation now stands at Rs 4.49 lakh crore, making it the 10th largest listed company in the Indian stock market. Data shows that it has overtaken healthcare giant Sun Pharmaceuticals and Tata group’s Titan.

The newly listed exchange now ranks behind Reliance Industries, which has a market capitalisation of Rs 16.49 lakh crore, followed by HDFC Bank at Rs 11.24 lakh crore, along with Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, TCS, Bajaj Finance, L&T, and HUL, stock exchange data showed.

Should you buy, sell or hold NSE shares?

Macquarie called NSE ‘The Dominator’ as it assigned an ‘Outperform’ rating and a Rs 1,965 target price, implying an upside potential of 8% from the upper price band. The brokerage highlighted NSE’s full suite of services, technology and deep liquidity, which make it a key part of India’s financialisation, calling it the ‘lynchpin’ of India’s financialisation. Strong network effects, profitability, and cash generation further support the business.

Emkay also initiated coverage on NSE with a ‘Buy’ rating and a Sep-27E target price of Rs 2,050, implying around 15% upside. The brokerage’s positive view on NSE rests on three key factors. First, India’s capital market development and growth story has a long runway as wealth creation and financialisation gain momentum, with India’s per capita GDP expected to move from around $3,000 to $10,000 over the coming decades.

Second, NSE has maintained a resilient leadership position across capital market business segments over the decades. Emkay believes its business model has sufficient levers to adapt to changing regulatory and macroeconomic conditions while continuing to deliver profitable growth.
Read more: NSE IPO Tracker: Catch all the highlights hereThird, strong profitability and cash generation at market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), including stock exchanges, allow them to command higher valuation multiples globally than other capital market players, which are more fragmented and exposed to competition.

NSE commands uncontested leadership across cash and derivatives, driven by a self-reinforcing liquidity flywheel. In the cash segment, NSE holds 93% market share while retaining near-monopoly in the equity futures and stock options segment. While BSE has captured market share following its derivatives relaunch, Emkay believes index options are transitioning to a phase of stabilisation following several regulatory rejigs. Supported by secular domestic financialisation and under-penetration, NSE possesses a multi-year structural runway, as rising household savings, record SIP flows, and capital formation continue to compound.

Domestic brokerage firm PL Capital has assigned an ‘Accumulate’ rating with a target price of Rs 1,950, forecasting an upside of over 9% from the IPO price band.

While transaction income accounted for 79% of NSE’s operating revenue in FY26, PL Capital expects the exchange to increasingly benefit from a more diversified revenue mix, supported by multiple recurring income streams. Listing services, colocation, data feed and index licensing are expected to grow at a faster 14% CAGR over FY26-29E, compared with 9% for transaction income.

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Veer Sharma, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Veer Sharma and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.

Two-day study follows complaints from local residents

A public inquiry is to examine logistics firm Whistl’s application to operate up to 60 HGVs and 95 trailers at its site at the controversial Astley business park.

The office of the Traffic Commissioner said the two day inquiry will consider the application on November 10 and 11 following opposition from dozens of nearby residents.

The commissioner has determined 131 individuals across 96 properties near to the giant warehouse complex have valid objections.

These individuals, termed ‘representors’ will be able to speak at the inquiry.

The company began trading at unit 2 at the Astley Business Park on Monday (July 20) after being granted an interim licence by the traffic commissioner regarding heavy goods vehicle movements.

Whistl previously agreed a 15-year lease for the unit with the intention of moving their local operation from the nearby Logistics North complex near Bolton.

The now completed development has been dogged by controversy for more than year since building work started.

Many residents, some of whom have gardens just 30 metres from the 350,000 sq ft logistics site, have slammed the huge scale and appearance of the ‘towering warehouses’.

In late August, Whistl ended overnight transport operations at the site in Tyldesley after admitting noise ‘has had an impact on nearby residents’.

Since 24-hour operations, including numerous HGV movements began, nearby households reported issues about noise, with some complaining of sleep disturbance, banging and background hum.

The company agreed to cease transport operations between midnight and 6am and introduce more noise mitigation measures.

Ahead of the inquiry, letters will be issued to all objectors to give them details and background into what the public inquiry will entail.

It is understood that in early October the presiding traffic commissioner will visit the operating centre and surrounding area to observe the site.

The Astley Warehouse Action Group, who have been critical of the overall site and some of Whistl’s operations will be represented at the inquiry and is likely to speak on behalf of some of the objectors.

A spokesperson for the group said it ‘welcomed the opportunity to put forward our objections to the inquiry’.

The venue for the public inquiry is yet to be confirmed.

A spokesperson for Whistl said: “A public inquiry has been listed for November 10 and 11 by the Traffic Commissioner for Whistl’s operation at PLP Astley, Wigan.

“Whistl will be taking a full part in the hearing and has been in frequent contact with the traffic commissioner’s office.

“We have also been closely working with local residents since moving our north west depot to PLP Astley, Wigan.”

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TUCSON, Ariz. — A self-described online investigator has raised unverified claims casting doubt on FBI-released photos of the masked man widely referred to online as “porch guy,” the closest figure to a named suspect in the ongoing search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, more than seven months after her disappearance.

Authorities believe Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood the night before or in the early morning hours of February 1. Doorbell camera footage from her home showed a masked man wearing gloves and carrying a backpack, an image that has since become the primary visual lead the public has in the case. The FBI has described the individual as male, standing approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an average build, and wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack in the footage.

More than seven months into the investigation, some online observers have questioned why the photos of the masked man have not been more widely distributed, including on billboards, reasoning that broader visibility could increase the chances of someone recognizing him and generating a break in the case.

Against that backdrop, an account identifying itself as JLR, run by a self-styled investigator named Jonathan Lee Riches, shared claims casting doubt on the FBI’s photos themselves. According to the post, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department deputy allegedly expressed concern about potential “defamation or mistaken identity” tied to the photo the FBI had released. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has not officially addressed or confirmed this claim, and the underlying assertion remains unverified. JLR amplified the post further while separately asking where Nancy Guthrie was, without offering additional substantiation for the claims about the FBI’s photo release.

The post drew angry reactions from other social media users following its circulation. “Corruption at its finest,” one commenter wrote. Another commenter described the entire situation as “Unreal.” A third commenter simply asked, “Where is Nancy Guthrie.”

The claims also fed into broader online speculation suggesting the public might be barred from distributing flyers featuring the masked suspect, tied to the same alleged concerns about defamation or mistaken identity attributed to the unnamed deputy. However, no official statement has been issued by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department instructing the public not to distribute images of the masked suspect in connection with the case.

The renewed attention to the FBI’s photos comes amid a broader pattern of online claims and counterclaims that have continued circulating throughout the investigation, many of them originating from self-styled investigators and amateur online sleuths rather than confirmed statements from law enforcement. That dynamic has repeatedly created friction between the volume of online theorizing surrounding Guthrie’s disappearance and the comparatively limited pace of confirmed updates released by investigators actually working the case.

Investigators have continued to describe the Nancy Guthrie investigation as active, even as no suspect has been publicly named and no arrest has been announced in the more than seven months since she was first reported missing. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has said its investigation continues to focus on forensic and digital evidence analysis, working in coordination with the FBI, though the department has offered limited additional public detail about the case’s progress in recent months.

The masked man captured in the doorbell footage remains the only publicly known lead resembling a suspect in the case, and authorities have not confirmed his identity or connected him definitively to Guthrie’s disappearance beyond his presence in the footage from around the time she went missing. Despite the extensive online discussion surrounding the images, including this latest round of claims about their reliability, no independent verification has emerged either supporting or refuting the assertions attributed to the unnamed Pima County deputy.

As with other unverified claims that have periodically surfaced throughout the investigation, the latest allegations regarding the FBI’s photos amount to online speculation rather than a development confirmed by the agencies actually conducting the search for Guthrie. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s continued silence on the specific claim has left the matter unresolved, even as it has continued to generate significant reaction and further theorizing among online communities closely following the case.

With no new suspect named and the investigation continuing to rely on forensic and digital evidence review, the gap between the pace of online speculation and the pace of confirmed information released by investigators remains a defining feature of the Nancy Guthrie case more than seven months after she was last seen at her Tucson-area home.

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SYDNEY — Australia’s benchmark share index closed lower for a second consecutive session Friday, falling 38 points, or 0.44%, to 8,664.0, as a deepening global bond sell-off and continued strength in oil prices weighed on investor sentiment heading into next week’s Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision.

The S&P/ASX 200 opened Friday at 8,757.80 before sliding through the morning session, dropping to 8,663 points by 10:30 a.m. local time. Of the index’s 11 sectors, all but one traded lower, with the materials sector falling more than 1%. The decline followed a global bond market sell-off that pushed U.S. Treasury yields to multi-decade highs overnight, adding to concerns about inflation and the broader path of interest rates worldwide.

Friday’s losses extended a sharper pullback recorded Thursday, when the ASX 200 fell 63.3 points, or 0.72%, to close at 8,702, with the broader All Ordinaries index down 0.66% to 8,897. Thursday’s decline came as oil prices surged above $100 a barrel, compounding steep losses on Wall Street tied to continued selling in technology and artificial intelligence-linked stocks. The Australian dollar finished Thursday’s session little changed at 70.38 U.S. cents. Market breadth was notably weak that day, with declining stocks outnumbering advancers by 695 to 376, and 386 stocks finishing unchanged.

Individual stock moves on Thursday reflected the broader market’s uneven tone. Premier Investments, owner of the Peter Alexander and Smiggle brands and holder of a 25% stake in appliance maker Breville, led gainers with a 7.53% advance, even as the company flagged ongoing concerns about a soft retail sector. Washington H. Soul Pattinson added 6.24% to close at $48.35, while BSP Financial Group rose 5.90% to $7.81. On the losing side, buy-now-pay-later provider Zip Co tumbled 10.27% to $2.01 after the company reported its short sale position following Wednesday’s closing bell, while Liontown Resources fell 7.38% and Nine Entertainment dropped 6.21%, with UBS analysts warning the media company could face near-term revenue challenges following the recent introduction of an ad-supported subscription tier. Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto bucked the broader downward trend Thursday, rising 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively, as copper prices firmed on reports of Chinese stockpiling ahead of upcoming holidays.

The weaker tone across Australian equities this week has coincided with signs of broader economic strain domestically. National Australia Bank’s latest quarterly business survey found business conditions had fallen to their first negative reading since September 2020, with the bank’s index recording a three-point decline. Sales margins deteriorated to their lowest level since June 2020, a result NAB attributed to declining profitability and what it described as a “particularly challenging cost environment.” Separately, struggling property developer Bathla is expected to cease construction across all of its sites, after 213 staff were stood down in early September and other construction projects were suspended in the wake of a broader corporate deal affecting the company.

Australia’s labour market data, released Thursday, added a further layer of complexity to the outlook. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in August, up from 4.5% in July, even as total employment increased by 39,500 people. That employment growth came entirely from part-time positions, while full-time employment actually declined by 6,300 over the same period, and the labour force participation rate rose to 67.1%. Economists have suggested the combination of rising unemployment alongside employment growth points to a gradually easing labour market, a dynamic that could give the Reserve Bank additional grounds to hold interest rates steady at its upcoming meeting. Major Australian banks reflected the cautious mood Thursday, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia falling 0.84% to $149.775 and Westpac Banking Corp down 1.32% to $34.30.

The Reserve Bank is scheduled to announce its next interest rate decision on Tuesday, September 29, a meeting that has taken on added significance given the mixed signals emerging from this week’s economic data and the broader volatility across global bond and equity markets. Separately, the central bank has faced internal labor tension of its own in recent weeks. The Finance Sector Union criticized RBA leadership for reoffering the same enterprise bargaining pay proposal that staff had already voted down in July, a 9.5% pay increase spread across three years. FSU secretary Julia Angrisano said the central bank’s approach reflected poorly on its treatment of its own workforce. “The RBA are not respecting the collective voice of their workers by putting forward the same pay offer that was rejected in a ballot just over two months ago,” Angrisano said. “The RBA should be a model employer, but instead they are treating their staff like mugs.”

Beyond domestic developments, global political and economic news continued shaping sentiment Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing a wide-ranging television interview, said a proposed U.S. ban on diesel exports would be “catastrophic,” both for the global economy and for the U.S. economy specifically, adding another point of international economic uncertainty to a week already dominated by volatility in bond markets, oil prices and equity trading worldwide.

With the ASX 200 now down roughly 5% over the past month and the Reserve Bank’s rate decision just days away, investors are likely to remain focused on how incoming economic data and global bond market conditions evolve heading into next week, as markets continue weighing the competing signals from a softening domestic labour market against the inflationary pressure stemming from elevated oil prices and rising global bond yields.