Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, seven stocks were banned from trade on Wednesday, February 7, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Ashok Leyland, Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Indus Towers, National Aluminium Co, UPL Ltd 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. 

Hindustan Copper and ZEEL were retained on the list from Thursday as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 96.4% and 83.8%, respectively. Indus Towers and India Cements saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 117.8% and 101.8% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

National Aluminium’s derivative contracts’ open interest was 89.2% of its MWPL on February 6, compared to 90% for UPL. All the above securities were retained on the list from Tuesday, February 6. Ashok Leyland was added to the list on Wednesday as the open interest of its F&O contracts reached 109.6%. 

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 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.