Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, six stocks were banned from trade on Tuesday, 23 April by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Biocon, Hindustan Copper, Vodafone Idea, Piramal Enterprise, Steel Authority of India, 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.

Biocon, Vodafone Idea, and Piramal Enterprises were retained on the list from Monday as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 82.5%, 93.9%, and 80.9%, respectively. Steel Authority of India derivative contracts’ open interest is 80.5% of its MWPL on 23 April, compared to 88.4% for Zee Entertainment.

The above securities were retained on the list from Monday, 22 April. Hindustan Copper was added to the list on Tuesday as the open interest of their F&O contracts reached 101%.

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 Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, Exide Industries, and Metropolis Healthcare declined below the 80% limit to 77.3%, 78.6%, 74.6%, and 75.6%, respectively. Hence, it was exited from the list on Tuesday.

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.