Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, four stocks were banned from trade on Monday, 26 March, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Biocon, Steel Authority of India, Tata Chemicals, and Zee Entertainment Enterprise 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.

Biocon and Zee Entertainment were retained on the list from Monday as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 80.3% and 82.2%. Steel Authority of India’s derivative contracts’ open interest is 93.4% of its MWPL on 26 March, compared to 82.4% for Tata Chemicals.

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 Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, and Piramal Enterprises, declined below 80% limit to 79.4%, 78.7%, and 76.1%, 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.