BSE to retain weekly options linked to Sensex after SEBI's new F&O framework: Report

Mumbai/IBNS: The BSE will continue offering weekly derivative contracts linked to the Sensex, after the new, stricter regulations on equity derivatives set by India's market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

IBNS • 3 Oct 2024, 08:10 am

On Tuesday (Oct. 1), SEBI instructed exchanges to limit the number of weekly options contracts available to investors to just one, effective from November 20.

This move comes after a surge in retail investors engaging in options trading, which the regulator and government see as a potential threat to household finances.

A SEBI study revealed that individual traders incurred a combined net loss of Rs 1.81 lakh crore in futures and options trading between 2021 and March 2024, with only 7.2 percent of traders profiting.

Currently, the BSE operates two derivative contracts linked to indices: BSE Sensex and BSE Bankex.

The BSE has not yet responded to a request for comment from Reuters.

In August, BSE's index options had a notional turnover of Rs 2,603 lakh crore, with Sensex accounting for 85 percent of trading volumes during the fiscal year ending in March 2024, as per reports.