Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, ten stocks were banned from trade on Thursday, December 21, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Ashok Leyland, Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp, India Cements, Indus Towers, Manappuram Finance, National Aluminium Co, Piramal Enterprises, RBL Bank and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

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. 

Manappuram Finance and Balrampur Chini were retained on the list as the open interest as a percentage of the MWPL of their F&O contracts stood at 84.6% and 99%, respectively, on December 20. The combined open interest for the derivatives contracts of RBL Bank and Piramal Enterprises stood at 85% and 82.9% of their respective MWPLs on Wednesday. 

The open interest for National Aluminium’s derivative contracts stood at 82.1% of its MWPL at Wednesday’s closing time, while that of Indus Towers was 81.4%. SAIL and Delta Corp saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 85.6% and 109.4% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

All the above securities were retained on the list from Wednesday, December 20. Ashok Leyland and India Cements were added to the list on Thursday as the open interest of its F&O contracts reached 95.5% and 99.7%, 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 open interest for the F&O contracts of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) declined below the 80% limit to 76.7% and 76.5%, 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.