Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, nine stocks were banned from trade on Monday, 15 April by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Balrampur Chini Mills, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited, Hindustan Copper, Vodafone Idea, The India Cements Ltd, Metropolis Healthcare, National Aluminium Company, Piramal Enterprise, and Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd.

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.

Balrampur Chini Mills, Hindustan Copper, and Vodafone Idea were retained on the list from Friday as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 95.5%, 96.5%, and 84.6%, respectively. The India Cements Ltd derivative contracts’ open interest is 86.6% of its MWPL on 15 April, compared to 97.1% for National Aluminium and 93.2% for Zee Entertainment.

The above securities were retained on the list from Friday, 12 April. Metropolis Healthcare, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals, and Piramal Enterprises were added to the list on Monday as the open interest of their F&O contracts reached 124%, 100.3%, and 99.1%, 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 F&O contracts of Exide Industries and Steel Authority of India declined below the 80% limit to 76.4% and 78.4%, respectively. Hence, it was exited from the list on Monday.

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.