The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) made its much-awaited stock market debut on Thursday, with shares ending their first session at ?1,818 on the BSE, up 1.85% over the Rs 1,785 IPO price. The stock, however, pared most of its early gains after touching a high of Rs 1,878 during the session.

NSE shares opened at Rs 1,800, a 0.84% premium to the issue price, before climbing as much as 5.2% in early trade. The stock subsequently gave up gains and settled at Rs 1,818. At the closing price, NSE's market capitalisation stood at around Rs 4.50 lakh crore.

The debut came against a weak broader market. The Sensex plunged 1,247.71 points, or 1.67%, to 73,580.54, while the Nifty 50 fell 1.64% to 23,063.10. Rising crude oil prices, higher US bond yields and concerns around global interest rates weighed on investor sentiment.

NSE's debut also brought the country's two major stock exchanges into the listed market for the first time. NSE shares are listed on the BSE, as the exchange cannot list its own shares on its trading platform.

NSE's public-market debut was preceded by a substantial reduction in the size and valuation of its IPO.

The entire issue was an offer for sale (OFS), meaning NSE itself did not receive the IPO proceeds. Existing shareholders, including SBI and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, sold shares.

Despite the lower valuation, the IPO received strong demand, with the issue subscribed 5.71 times and attracting bids worth more than ?90,000 crore.

NSE was incorporated in 1992, received recognition from Sebi in 1993 and commenced operations in 1994. It became India's first exchange to implement electronic or screen-based trading and has since grown into the country's largest exchange by trading activity.