MUMBAI: Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has ruled out shuttering the weekly futures and options expiries, saying he cannot take such an abrupt step.
The statement from the market watchdog helped the BSE and Angel One sharply recoup the deep losses booked earlier in the day and close in the green 1% higher.
"This (weekly F&O expiry) is a very sensitive subject and has a lot of nuances. There has been a problem in the derivatives market, which has been highlighted by Sebi," said Pandey at an industry event here Friday.
"How can we shut down the weekly options market just like that? We will do further data crunching on the weekly options issue," Pandey added, and noted that while concerns over retail participation in derivatives are valid, an outright ban is not feasible.
Pandey was responding to a question on the regulator's stance on the F&O segment especially its weekly settlement, given that Sebi's own findings have found that the vast majority of retail investors are heavy losers in this segment of the market. As many as 94% of retail investors have on average lost over Rs 1.25 lakh per annum, Sebi had said quoting its own findings.
Pandey said Sebi has been taking a phased and data-based approach toward reforming the derivatives market. Some of these measures have already come into effect, while others will be implemented by December 1, 2025.
The new measures include restrictions on the number of expiry days and allowing trading in only one index on a given day.
He also said the regulator is closely monitoring derivatives trading data and will continue to analyse patterns before making further policy changes.
"Any further development, we will put it out in the form of a public consultation so that everyone can then chew on that, and we will also do further data crunching," Pandey noted.
Meanwhile, the BSE share price reversed the heavy losses after the Sebi chief's comments. The stock had tanked nearly 4% in early trade but erased all the losses after Pandey's remarks and closed 1.53% higher at Rs 2,480 apiece. The intra-day recovery followed a similar trend in Angel One shares, which also bounced back from session lows and closed the session 0.7% down.
The initial decline came amid speculation that Sebi could impose stricter limits or even phase out weekly options, a key driver of trading volumes.
Recent news reports said the market regulator is looking to remove weekly F&O expiries to reduce speculation in the market and improve cash market trading.
source: The New Indian Express

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