Trading Days Get a Makeover: NSE Takes Tuesdays, BSE Bags Thursdays in SEBI’s Big Expiry Shuffle

In a landmark regulatory move, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the National Stock Exchange's (NSE) proposal to shift its weekly equity derivatives expiry to Tuesday, while the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will now conduct its weekly expiry on Thursday. This decision marks a significant change in the Indian derivatives landscape, aiming to streamline expiry schedules and curb market volatility.

 

Key Highlights

 

SEBI Mandate: SEBI has mandated that all equity derivatives contracts must now expire on either Tuesday or Thursday, limiting the previous flexibility that allowed exchanges to pick any day of the week.

 

NSE Moves to Tuesday: NSE, which previously had its weekly expiry on Thursday, has officially received SEBI's approval to move to Tuesday for its benchmark index options expiry.

 

BSE Shifts to Thursday: With NSE taking Tuesday, BSE will now conduct its weekly expiry on Thursday, reversing the earlier arrangement where BSE expired contracts on Tuesday.

 

Monthly Expiry Alignment: For all other equity derivatives (including index futures and single stock contracts), the expiry will be in the last week of the month, on the chosen day (Tuesday for NSE, Thursday for BSE).

 

Objective: The move is designed to reduce hyper-activity and concentration risk on expiry days, promote uniformity, and offer product differentiation between exchanges.

 

Market Impact: Analysts expect a potential shift in trading volumes, with up to 20% of Sensex options volume possibly moving from BSE to NSE, and NSE’s index options market share projected to rise by nearly 5%.

 

Implementation: Exchanges are required to file their revised expiry plans with SEBI and obtain prior approval for any future changes.

 

This regulatory overhaul is expected to bring greater clarity, discipline, and stability to India’s fast-growing derivatives market, benefiting both traders and investors.

 

Source: Business Standard, Economic Times, CNBC-TV18, Groww, ICICI Direct.