Under the futures and options (F&O) segment, fifteen stocks were banned from trade on Wednesday, January 17, by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities banned for the F&O trade are Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Ashok Leyland, Bandhan Bank, Biocon Ltd, Chambal Fertilizers, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Indus Towers, Metropolis Healthcare, National Aluminium Co, Piramal Enterprises, Polycab India, PVR Inox, 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. 

Biocon 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 80.9% and 86.2%, respectively, on January 16. Polycab’s derivative contract open interest was 108.1% of its MWPL, compared to 80.3% for Piramal Enterprises. 

The open interest for Indus Towers’s derivative contracts stood at 80.3% of its MWPL at Tuesday’s closing time, while that of India Cements was 81.2%. Delta Corp and Hindustan Copper saw the open interest for their F&O contracts touch 88.8% and 89.4% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. 

At Tuesday’s closing time, the open interest for PVR Inox and ZEEL’s derivatives contracts was 86.5% and 97.3% of their respective MWPLs, respectively. The combined open interest for the derivatives contracts of Chambal Fertilizers and Metropolis Healthcare stood at 87.7% and 93.5% of their MWPL, respectively, on January 16. 

All the above securities were retained on the list from Tuesday, January 16. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Ashok Leyland and National Aluminium were added to the list on Wednesday as the open interest of its F&O contracts reached 98.7%, 95% and 121.1%, 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 Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Escorts Kubota and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) declined below the 80% limit to 77.7%, 76.8% and 79.3%, respectively. Hence, they were exited from the list on Wednesday. 

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.