Weekly options expiry witness to battle of bourses

Competition between Asia's oldest exchange and its younger, bigger rival is set to hot up with BSE shifting its weekly Sensex contract expiry from next month even as Sebi's curbs to temper retail frenzy in derivatives have gotten under way.

- Ram Sahgal & Neha Joshi

Market experts said that a regulatory nudge could have compelled both the exchanges to ensure that their monthly and quarterly derivatives contracts expire on the same day as their respective weekly contract.

Same day expiry will ensure that Sebi curbs on single weekly expiry per exchange aren't diluted by multiple expiries on the last week of a month.

The BSE said in a circular last Thursday that it will shift its weekly Sensex contract expiry to Tuesday from Friday after 3 January 2025. Additionally, its monthly Sensex, Bankex and Sensex 50 derivatives contracts will expire on the last Tuesday of an expiry month from different days currently.

Meanwhile, NSE has left its weekly, monthly, quarterly and semi-annual Nifty contracts' expiry day unchanged on Thursday, and it has shifted the expiry of other contracts also to Thursday effective 1 January.