Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, fifteen stocks were banned from trade on Monday, January 15, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Bandhan Bank, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Chambal Fertilizers, Delta Corp, Escorts Kubota, Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Indus Towers, Metropolis Healthcare, National Aluminium Co, Piramal Enterprises, Polycab India, PVR Inox, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) 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. 

BHEL and Bandhan Bank were retained on the list as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 93.2% and 89.3%, respectively, on January 12. Escort Kubota’s derivative contract open interest was 83.6% of its MWPL, compared to 82.7% for Piramal Enterprises. 

The open interest for National Aluminium’s derivative contracts stood at 81.8% of its MWPL at Friday’s closing time, while that of India Cements was 84.2%. SAIL and Hindustan Copper saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 82.3% and 97.2% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

At Friday’s closing time, the open interest for PVR Inox and ZEEL’s derivatives contracts was 91.4% and 101.4% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. Indus Towers saw the open interest for its F&O contracts touch 85.7% of its MWPL. The combined open interest for the derivatives contracts of Delta Corp and Polycab India stood at 94.6% and 139.2% of their MWPL, respectively, on Friday. 

All the above securities were retained on the list from Friday, January 12. Chambal Fertilizers and Metropolis Healthcare were added to the list on Monday as the open interest of their F&O contracts reached 101.9% and 119.7%, 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 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.