MUMBAI: As expected, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has had its way in the tussle over weekly expiries, with regulator SEBI approving its request to shift to Tuesdays. The BSE, meanwhile, will have its expiries on Thursdays.
Both exchanges announced on Tuesday that SEBI had approved their respective proposals for weekly expiries. However, for already introduced contracts, the expiry days will remain unchanged — with the exception of long-dated index option contracts, which will be realigned to the new expiry days.
Derivative contracts expiring on or before August 31 will continue with the current expiry days. Contracts expiring after September 1 will shift to Tuesdays and Thursdays for NSE and BSE, respectively.
For NSE, shifting expiry to Tuesdays gives it one additional trading day in the week. This is expected to help the exchange protect its volumes, which had taken a hit after SEBI banned multiple expiries and tightened retail participation in derivatives trading.
SEBI’s approval followed deliberations at its Secondary Market Advisory Committee.
Last November, NSE had indicated plans to move index derivative expiries to Thursdays. But in a surprise move this March, the exchange said it would instead seek Mondays — preempting the BSE’s push for the same day.
The final SEBI communication, in line with its March 27 draft circular, has now fixed expiries for Tuesdays and Thursdays.
SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey had said late last month that the regulator would issue a final circular on F&O expiry changes within a month.
The shift from Thursday to Tuesday is expected to help NSE claw back market share from rival BSE. Derivatives trading is a key revenue driver for both exchanges.
NSE handles the highest number of derivatives contracts globally — once peaking at over ₹540 trillion, which accounted for nearly 75% of global volumes. Since SEBI’s curbs in November, average derivatives volumes — particularly at NSE — have declined by 35–40%. The Tuesday shift is part of NSE’s strategy to recover ground amid regulatory pressure to curb excessive speculation.