Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, nine stocks were banned from trade on Monday, 22 April, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, Biocon, Exide Industries, Vodafone Idea, Metropolis Healthcare, 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.

Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, and Exide Industries were retained on the list from Friday as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 80.9%, 85.2%, and 87%, respectively. Vodafone Idea derivative contracts’ open interest is 104.2% of its MWPL on 22 April, compared to 86% for Metropolis Healthcare and 89.6% for Zee Entertainment.

Furthermore, the Steel Authority of India and Piramal Enterprises were also retained on the list as their open interest is 84.1% and 87.2%, respectively.

The above securities were retained on the list from Friday, 19 April. Biocon was added to the list on Monday as the open interest of their F&O contracts reached 96.3%.

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 Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited, Hindustan Copper, and National Aluminium Company declined below the 80% limit to 78.8%, 79.8% and 79.3%, 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.