Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited (BOM:532947) last traded at 129.05, representing a move of 5%, or 6.15 per share, on volume of 341,719 shares. After opening the trading day at 123, shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited traded in a close range. IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited currently has a total float of 350.47 million shares and on average sees 52,794 shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 121.3 and high of 225.2.

BSE & NSE: Asia’s Leading Stock Exchanges

India is one of the reasons that the Asian economy is immensely growing today. While its corporate sector’ representing about 14% of the national gross domestic product (GDP)’ is far smaller than that of the US’ representing about 70% of the national GDP, India has all the capabilities to remain as competitive as any other economy.

What Drives India’s Economy?

A nation’s equity market is very telling of its own success. In India, it is the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) that do the telling of the country’s economic prowess.

The BSE is the world’s 11th biggest stock exchange and also one of the fastest stock exchanges. As of January 23, 2015, it has a total market capitalization of $1.70 trillion. The BSE has a speed of six microseconds.

The SENSEX 30 is the benchmark index of the BSE. It weighs the 30 best-performing and most actively traded companies on the BSE with a base value of 100. Here, stocks are measured based on depth, floating-stock-adjustment depth, industry representation, liquidity, and market capitalization.

On the other hand, the NSE is owned and operated by the Indian Index Services and Products (IISP), supporting 230,000 terminals nationwide. IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited is a stock traded on the Indian stock exchange.

The NIFTY is the benchmark index of the NSE. It weighs the 50 best-performing and most actively traded stocks across 24 sectors on the NSE with a base value of 1,000. Consequently, it is a broader representation of the Indian corporate sector than the SENSEX 30.

Historical Feats

The BSE was established in 1875, bringing Asia its first stock exchange. It is also the first entity to be granted with a permanent acknowledgement under India’s Securities Contract Regulation Act of 1956.

On July 25, 1990, the BSE first reached a four-digit figure. On October 11, 1999, upon the victory of the Bhartiya Janta Party in the General Elections, it first reached the 5,000 mark. On February 6, 2006, it first reached the 10,000 mark. On December 11, 2007, shortly before the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the BSE first reached the 20,000 mark. On January 21 and 22, 2008, it first lost more than 2,000 points in just two consecutive days.

On March 4, 2015, the BSE first reached the 30,000 mark. On August 24, 2015, it had once again recorded one of its worst sessions, losing 1,741 points after the devaluation of the Yuan. Chinese stocks had also fallen nearly 9% during that day, shaking the entire Asian market. IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited has relatively good liquidity.

Meanwhile, the NSE was established in 1992 as the first stock exchange in India with a fully electronic trading system. It paved way to the Indian equity market eventually embracing an electronic stock exchange platform, which is faster and more convenient’ thereby entirely improving trade and commerce in the country.

Evidently, the BSE and the NSE are two of the most successful stock exchanges in the world. It goes without saying that investing in India is associated with promising returns. Professional analysts might be interested how this will affect IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited.

IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited engages in the construction, development, and operation and maintenance of roads and highways on build-operate-transfer basis in India. The company has market cap of $45.23 billion. The firm operates in two divisions, BOT Projects and Construction. It has a 5.11 P/E ratio. It is also involved in real estate development; generation and sale of electricity through windmill; and hospitality and airport infrastructure activities.