The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday said holiday-related disruptions to weekly expiry sessions impacted its derivatives market share in April, even as it maintained that its leadership position in India’s futures and options (F&O) segment remains strong versus rival BSE.
In a press release, the exchange stated that two key weekly expiry sessions were lost during April because holidays fell on Tuesdays — the day on which NSE’s flagship Nifty contracts expire. According to the exchange, this temporarily distorted trading activity and impacted reported market share numbers.
NSE noted that rival contracts expiring on Thursdays were unaffected by the holiday calendar during the month, creating what it described as a “temporary imbalance” in market activity.
The statement comes amid intensifying competition between NSE and BSE in the equity derivatives segment, especially after BSE’s Sensex and Bankex options gained significant traction over recent quarters.
Despite the April disruption, NSE said it retained a dominant 62.9% share in index options and 86.8% share in overall F&O premium turnover during the month.
The exchange also highlighted that its index options market share had shown a steady improvement earlier in the year, rising from 66.7% in January 2026 to 72.1% in March 2026 — an increase of 540 basis points.
NSE stressed that premium turnover remains the most relevant metric for evaluating derivatives market activity, calling it the “industry-standard metric” that reflects actual economic activity. The exchange argued that notional turnover calculations can artificially inflate competitor market share because of higher index price levels, leading to distortions of up to 19 percentage points.
According to NSE, premium turnover aligns with global best practices and is widely used by regulators, institutional investors and market participants for evaluating derivatives trading activity.
The exchange reiterated that its market position remains robust despite short-term fluctuations caused by technical factors such as holiday-adjusted expiry schedules.
“NSE’s leadership stance stays clear and its market position remains robust, growth trajectory intact, and the volatility largely technical,” the exchange said in the statement.
India’s derivatives market has witnessed rapid growth over the last few years, with weekly options contracts emerging as the most actively traded products globally. Competition between NSE and BSE has also intensified following changes in expiry-day strategies and increasing retail participation in index options trading.