The NSE has postponed the implementation of the futures and options (F&O) expiry originally scheduled for Monday, which was set to begin on Tuesday, April 4. This announcement was made late Thursday after a consultation paper from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), suggested restricting the expirations of all equity derivatives contracts on an exchange to either Tuesdays or Thursdays.
The objective is to maintain ideal intervals between different expiries on various exchanges while avoiding the selection of either the first or last day of the week as an expiry date.
“Members are required to note that the implementation of this circular is deferred until further notice in view of SEBI consultation paper dated March 27, 2025, on ‘Final Settlement Day (Expiry Day) for Equity Derivatives’,” an NSE circular read.
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The markets’ regulator proposal follows the NSE’s decision to change the expiry days for F&O contracts on Nifty, Bank Nifty, FinNifty, Nifty Next50, and Nifty Midcap Select to Monday from Thursday. The NSE announced these modifications in a circular released on March 4.
The consultation paper released on Thursday also suggests that every exchange will still be permitted to have one weekly benchmark index options contract on their selected day, either Tuesday or Thursday. In addition to benchmarking index options, all other equity derivative contracts, including all benchmark index futures, non-benchmark index futures/options, and all single stock futures/options will be available with a minimum duration of one month, with expiry scheduled during the last week of each month on their chosen day.
Also, the bourses will have to take prior permission from SEBI for launching or making any changes in any contract expiry or settlement day. The last chance to submit the public feedback is April 17, 2025.
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SEBI wants predictability and stability for the market participants around the expiry days of equity derivatives contracts across the exchanges. It aims to space expiry days properly to lower concentration risk, allow for product innovation and risk management, and protect investors while maintaining market stability.
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