Jane Street gained on bullish bets amid India-Pak tensions

Sebi alleged that the US hedge fund manipulated Nifty and Bank Nifty options on expiry days

- Ram Sahgal

US hedge fund Jane Street Group allegedly manipulated India's benchmark Nifty 50 index at the peak of 'Operation Sindoor' by taking heavily bullish positions in the last 45 minutes of trading on 8 May.

India had launched targeted missile strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in wee hours of 7 May in retaliation for Pahalgam terror attack.

On 8 May, as the India-Pakistan conflict escalated, the Nifty fell just 0.6% to 24,274 points as a result of Jane Street Group's actions, show Securities and Exchange Board of India's findings in its interim order barring the US proprietary trading firm from Indian stocks for alleged market manipulation.

Thursday, 8 May, was the expiry day of Nifty's weekly options.

Sebi's investigation into JS Group's actions between August 2023 and May 2025 reveals the trader took bullish or bearish Bank Nifty and Nifty option positions on weekly expiry days on 21 instances.

JS Group first initiated heavy positions on Bank Nifty and Nifty cash and stock futures segments to allegedly mislead and entice market participants with the sole aim of making hefty profits on the options positions, according to Sebi.

Sebi requires foreign portfolio investors to settle trades in cash market shares rather than squaring off such trades intraday.