NSE Applies For Tuesday As Weekly F&O Expiry, Sources Say

The National Stock Exchange has applied to the Securities and Exchange Board of India to set Tuesday as the expiry day for its weekly index options contracts, according to people familiar with the matter.

The request has been submitted to the regulator and may or may not be accepted, the people said. Its also important to note that India's oldest bourse, Bombay Stock Exchange, already has Tuesday as its expiry.

As reported previously by NDTV Profit, SEBI is likely to finalise a proposal that would mandate all equity derivative contracts—futures and options—on each exchange to expire only on either Tuesday or Thursday. According to people familiar with the matter, the regulator aims to bring uniformity across exchanges and reduce expiry-day volatility.

Meanwhile, as per two people privy to the matter, the regulator has also received requests from smaller exchanges to reconsider proposal to have only two weekly expiry days.

Each recognised stock exchange will be allowed one weekly index options contract, which must expire on either Tuesday or Thursday, depending on the exchange’s choice. This means an exchange can offer a weekly expiry on either of the two days, but not both.

The regulator also received recommendations from the smaller players among exchanges against the proposal, people in the know said. However, it is likely to finalise the proposal, they said.

Aside from weekly benchmark index options, all other equity derivatives—including stock futures and options, non-benchmark index derivatives, and benchmark index futures—will have a minimum one-month tenure and expire in the last week of each month, on the exchange’s chosen day (either the last Tuesday or Thursday).

The regulator will also require exchanges to obtain prior approval before launching or modifying any contract’s expiry or settlement day going forward.