Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, thirteen stocks were banned from trade on Thursday, January 11, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, Chambal Fertilizers, Escorts Kubota, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC), Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Indus Towers, National Aluminium Co, Piramal Enterprises, 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. 

Chambal Fertilizers 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 81.5% and 93.4%, respectively, on January 10. 

The open interest for National Aluminium’s derivative contracts stood at 83.8% of its MWPL at Wednesday’s closing time, while that of India Cements was 87.2%. SAIL and Hindustan Copper saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 83.7% and 101% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

At Wednesday’s closing time, the open interest for Balrampur Chini and IEX’s derivatives contracts was 80.2% and 80.5% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. Escort Kubota’s derivative contract open interest was 87.6% of its MWPL, compared to 86.3% for Piramal Enterprises. 

All the above securities were retained on the list from Tuesday, January 9. Indus Towers, PVR Inox and ZEEL were added to the list on Thursday as the open interest of their F&O contracts reached 95.5%, 98.9% and 107.2%, 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 open interest for the F&O contracts of Delta Corp and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC) declined below the 80% limit to 78.5% and 79.7%, respectively. Hence, they were exited from the list on Thursday. 

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.