The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has officially deferred its earlier decision to revise the expiry day of index and stock derivatives, in light of SEBI’s latest consultation paper proposing standardized expiry days for equity derivatives.
In a circular dated March 27, 2025, NSE clarified that the implementation of its earlier circular (dated March 4, 2025), which had announced a shift of expiry day for certain contracts to Monday effective April 4, 2025, will now be deferred until further notice. The move comes after SEBI issued a discussion paper on the same day, recommending that all equity derivative expiries be aligned to either Tuesday or Thursday.
SEBI’s proposal aims to bring uniformity and avoid potential market confusion stemming from multiple expiry days across exchanges. The regulator also suggested that any future changes to contract expiry dates must receive prior approval from SEBI, marking a significant regulatory tightening on the matter.
This development comes as a potential relief for the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which had been gaining market share in the options segment due to its Tuesday expiry structure. NSE’s now-deferred plan to shift expiry to Monday had raised concerns of overlap and pressure on BSE’s volumes.
With the deferral, all eyes are now on SEBI’s next steps. Public comments on the consultation paper are open until April 17, 2025, after which the final regulatory framework is expected.
