Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, fifteen stocks were banned from trade on Monday, January 16, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Bandhan Bank, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Biocon Ltd, Chambal Fertilizers, Delta Corp, Escorts Kubota, Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Indus Towers, Metropolis Healthcare, 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 83.9% and 87.5%, respectively, on January 15. Escort Kubota’s derivative contract open interest was 81% of its MWPL, compared to 81.6% for Piramal Enterprises. 

The open interest for Indus Towers’s derivative contracts stood at 84% of its MWPL at Monday’s closing time, while that of India Cements was 83%. SAIL and Hindustan Copper saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 81.5% and 93.6% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

At Monday’s closing time, the open interest for PVR Inox and ZEEL’s derivatives contracts was 89% and 99.6% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. The combined open interest for the derivatives contracts of Delta Corp and Polycab India stood at 91.3% and 119.1% of their MWPL, respectively, on Monday. 

All the above securities were retained on the list from Monday, January 15. Biocon was added to the list on Tuesday as the open interest of its F&O contracts reached 95.8%.

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 National Aluminium Co declined below the 80% limit to 77.8%. 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.