Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, ten stocks were banned from trade on Wednesday, December 20, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp, Indus Towers, Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Manappuram Finance, National Aluminium Co, Piramal Enterprises, RBL Bank, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL).

Derivative contracts of these stocks were banned as the open market interest for these securities has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL) set by the exchanges. The MWPL is the maximum number of contracts that can be opened at any particular time. 

Manappuram Finance and Balrampur Chini were retained on the list as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 91.8% and 103.7%, respectively, on December 19. 

At Tuesday’s closing, the open interest for National Aluminium’s derivative contracts stood at 91.6% of its MWPL. SAIL and ZEEL saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 92.3% and 80.2% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

All the above securities were retained on the list from Tuesday, December 19. Delta Corp, Indus Towers, IRCTC, Piramal Enterprises and RBL Bank were added to the list on Wednesday as the open interest of its F&O contracts reached 131%, 98.6%, 97.9%, 96.3% and 95.3%, respectively.

The ban will be lifted once the position falls below 80%. Traders will get penalised for buying or selling these securities. They will be available for trading in the cash market.

The open interest for the F&O contracts of Hindustan Copper and India Cements declined below the 80% limit to 79.7% and 72.6%, respectively. Hence, they were exited from the list on Wednesday. 

The National Stock Exchange updates the list of securities on the F&O ban list daily. This list serves as a guide for traders and investors in the market. Traders who trade in indices do not encounter a situation of security ban.