New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- The exchange at the heart of India's stock market made a modest debut of its own. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) listed on the BSE at Rs.1,800 a share on Thursday, a 0.84% premium to its Rs.1,785 issue price, and ended the session about 1.8% above the offer price, even as the Sensex fell 1.67%.

For investors in India's second-largest initial public offering (IPO), the gain offered some comfort on a bruising market day. But it also underscored a familiar lesson from mega-IPOs: a large offering and a prominent business do not necessarily translate into a blockbuster debut.

A Mint analysis of India's 20 largest IPOs, including NSE, shows a mixed record. Several offerings overcame broader market weakness to deliver...