History of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) of India

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is an Indian stock exchange located at Dalal Street, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Maharashtra, India.

Established in 1875, the BSE is Asia’s first stock exchange. It claims to be the world's fastest stock exchange, with a median trade speed of 6 microseconds.

Here's a look at the history of this landmark stock exchange of Asia:


Oldest stock exchange in Asia
The Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest exchange in Asia. Its history dates back to 1855, when five stockbrokers would gather under banyan trees in front of Mumbai's Town Hall. The location of these meetings changed many times to accommodate an increasing number of brokers. The group eventually moved to Dalal Street in 1874 and became an official organization known as "The Native Share & Stock Brokers Association" in 1875.

Founded by 'Bullion King'
Bombay Stock Exchange founded by Premchand Roychand, one of the most influential businessmen in 19th-century Bombay. A man who made a fortune in the stockbroking business and came to be known as the Cotton King, the Bullion King or the Big Bull. He was the founder of the Native Share and Stock Brokers Association.

'SENSEX' developed
On August 31, 1957, the BSE became the first stock exchange to be recognized by the Indian Government under the Securities Contracts Regulation Act. In 1980, the exchange moved to the Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers at Dalal Street, Fort area. In 1986, it developed the BSE SENSEX index, giving the BSE a means to measure the overall performance of the exchange. In 2000, the BSE used this index to open its derivatives market, trading SENSEX futures contracts. The development of SENSEX options along with equity derivatives followed in 2001 and 2002, expanding the BSE's trading platform.

Modern Electronic Trading System
Historically an open outcry floor trading exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange switched to an electronic trading system developed by CMC Ltd. in 1995. It took the exchange only 50 days to make this transition.

Today, this automated, screen-based trading platform called BSE On-Line Trading (BOLT) had a capacity of 8 million orders per day. The BSE has also introduced a centralized exchange-based internet trading system, BSEWEBx.co.in to enable investors anywhere in the world to trade on the BSE platform

The BSE is the world's 11th largest stock exchange with an overall market capitalization of $1.43 Trillion as of March, 2016. More than 5500 companies are publicly listed on the BSE