Market microstructure: a comparative study of Bombay stock exchange and national stock exchange

Purpose - The present study seeks to investigate the relative edge between the market microstructure of the two leading stock exchanges of the Indian capital market, that is BSE and NSE with a focus on analysing their trading mechanism, efficiency, liquidity and volatility. Design/methodology/approach - We analyse the microstructure of BSE and NSE on the basis of: (1) trading mechanism – ownership structure, listing of securities, trading system and settlement and clearing process; (2) information efficiency using unit root test, serial correlation, runs test, variance ratio and the ARIMA model; (3) liquidity using trading statistics no. of listed Companies, market capitalisation, no. of trades etc. and (4) volatility using standard deviation and GARCH(1,1) model. Findings - A comprehensive scrutiny on microstructure of BSE and NSE makes it evident that the two leading stock exchanges of India are mostly similar and leave no scope to choose between them. Both the exchanges are demutualised corporate entities with a fully automated trading system in an order-driven market, informationally inefficient as evidenced by the predictability of returns, have shown tremendously growing trading statistics and by and large a declining trend in volatility over the years. Practical implications - Understanding the components of the microstructure black-box will provide the regulatory bodies with an intellectual framework to strengthen the market architecture. Both the exchanges will get aware of the dynamics of trading, can grow to be more competitive and attract more firms for listing and investors for trading of securities. Also, investors, portfolio managers and equity analysts will be able to make better investment strategies by understanding how the market works. Originality/value - Research in the area of market microstructure has been severely neglected, especially in the context of the Indian market. India is the world's fastest growing economies and we have witnessed tremendous reforms in the capital market. The past two and a half decades have brought about several innovations via demutualisation, screen-based trading, emergence of clearing corporations, innovative financial products and intense use of IT in the Indian stock market. A spurt of reforms and the emerging environment make it crucial to deeply analyse the market structure and design of two premier stock exchanges of India – BSE and NSE.