F&O Segment To See 45 New Entrants From Nov. 29

The contracts for 45 new companies are set to enter the Future and Option segment from Nov. 29, according to a circular by the National Stock Exchange of India. The list of entrants includes Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas Ltd., BSE Ltd., JSW Energy Ltd., Nykaa parent FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. and Zomato Ltd.

The NSE will inform the members of the market lot, scheme of strikes and quantity freeze limit of these 45 companies on Nov. 28 through a circular. This move by the exchange is in order to deepen market participation in equities and to enhance the price discovery. The move is also expected to improve market liquidity.

The other companies entering the NSE F&O segment include Angel One Ltd., Avenue Supermarts Ltd., Housing & Urban Development Corporation, One 97 Communications Ltd., NHPC Ltd and SJVN Ltd.

Yes Bank Ltd., Union Bank of India, Poonawalla Fincorp Ltd., PB Fintech Ltd., Life Insurance Corporation Of India, Jio Financial Services Ltd., Indian Bank, HFCL Ltd., Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd and Bank of India are few of the banking and financial names that will become a part of the NSE F&O segment.

PepsiCo's bottling franchise partner Varun Beverages Ltd. will also be entering the F&O segment.

The additions come as Bank Nifty, the most popular derivatives, bids farewell on Wednesday. This follows the new framework launched by the Securities and Exchange Board of India last month. These measures will also be effective from February 2025.

According to the circular, SEBI has asked exchanges to limit weekly option expiries to one per exchange from Nov. 20. The changes also included the mandatory upfront collection of option premiums from buyers, which will prevent undue intraday leverage. Additionally, SEBI will remove calendar spread treatment on the expiry day of contracts, aiming to minimise basis risk on these high-volume trading days.

The exchanges are now also required to monitor intraday positions at least four times a day and will impose penalties for any breaches of intraday limits, similar to those applied at the end of the trading day.

Additionally, the minimum contract value for index derivatives will be increased to Rs 15 lakhs, aimed at enhancing trading standards and efficiency.

These changes come in response to a rise in retail investors trading options, which regulators and the government view as a potential risk to household finances.