Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, seven stocks were banned from trade on Thursday, December 14, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Indiabulls Housing Finance, National Aluminium Co 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. 

The open interest for the derivative contracts of Hindustan Copper stood at 103.2% of its MWPL at Wednesday’s closing time, while that of India Cements was 92.8%. Indiabulls Housing and National Aluminium saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 84.6% and 83.9% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

Delta Corp 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 84.9% and 113.9%, respectively, on December 13. All the above securities were retained on the list from Wednesday, December 13. 

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 Steel Authority Of India Ltd (SAIL) declined below the 80% limit to 79.8%. Hence, they were exited from the list on Thursday. 

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.