Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, eight stocks were banned from trade on Wednesday, 8 May, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Balrampur Chini Mills, Biocon, GMR Airports, Vodafone Idea, Punjab National Bank, Steel Authority of India, and Zee Entertainment Enterprise. 

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. 

Vodafone Idea, Aditya Birla Fashion, and Biocon were retained on the list from Tuesday as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of its F&O contracts stood at 92%, 84.6%, and 82.8%, respectively. Balrampur Chini Mills derivative contracts’ open interest is 98.4% of its MWPL on 8 May, compared to 93.9% for GMR Airports and 93.4% for the Steel Authority of India. 

The above securities were retained on the list from Tuesday, 7 May. Punjab National Bank and Zee Entertainment were added to the list on Wednesday as the open interest of their F&O contracts reached 98.4% and 99.9%, 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.