Unfazed by NSE’s commodity push, market share remains intact: MCX chief

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Potential competition from the National Stock Exchange (NSE), India’s largest bourse, hasn’t perturbed the country’s largest commodity derivatives exchange, MCX, though it is keeping a close eye on NSE’s activity in the commodity derivatives segment (CDS), Praveena Rai, managing director & CEO of MCX indicated on Monday.MCX dominated the commodity options market in FY26 with a 99.9% share, leaving rival NSE with just 0.1%."We are watching the space very closely… it is a large competitor and they have made their intention felt in the market with the focus they are placing on the commodity segment," Rai said in response to an analyst’s query on evolving challenges during the company's Q4 earnings call.Rai didn't name NSE, but the reference was unmistakable as it is the second-largest non-agri commodity contender in CDS, ahead of BSE.Though NSE entered the CDS in 2018, it began working at increasing its market share in earnest only since late last year. Starting last November, it revised the expiry of its WTI crude oil options contracts to seven days before the underlying futures expire—a significant shift from its previous two-day window and the current schedule followed by MCX.In March 2026, it launched a 10-gram gold contract to compete with MCX’s benchmark gold contract, followed last month by a dated Brent Platts futures contract to gain a foothold in the energy derivatives market.

Brent crude is unique to NSE, as MCX's benchmark crude takes price cues from the US benchmark WTI.However, NSE's recent moves in CDS are yet to make a dent in MCX’s market share, Rai said. “From whatever we see, our bullion numbers remain untouched when it comes to market share in the past two years.