NSE plans to seek Tuesday expiry for derivatives contracts

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. Shares of Hyundai Motor India are set to start trading in Mumbai today after a $3.3 billion initial public offering that was the South Asian nation’s largest ever.

The exchange that handles the highest number of derivatives contracts in the world plans to apply to change its expiry date to Tuesday from Thursday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, pitting itself directly against its rival to clawback market share as the regulator seeks to curb excessive trading.

The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. could submit its application for all weekly and monthly contracts as early as Tuesday, the person said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private. At present, BSE Ltd. uses Tuesday, while NSE has traditionally settled contracts on Thursday.

The move is likely to intensify competition among the bourses. The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Monday restricted stock exchanges to only those two days, warning that “too many expiry days has the potential to revive expiry day hyperactivity which could jeopardize investor protection and market stability.”

NSE — by far the world’s busiest derivatives bourse — had been facing a steady decline in market share after Sebi last year took a series of steps to rein in speculative bets. In its latest earnings call, NSE Chief Executive Officer Ashish Kumar Chauhan told analysts and investors that market share loss has “run its course.”

The NSE is looking to retain its dominance ahead of a planned listing. It is said to be offering a record amount of about 10 billion rupees ($118 million) to settle a longstanding dispute with Sebi, Bloomberg News reported earlier, which is expected to enable NSE to secure a no-objection certificate for the IPO.

Representatives for the NSE and BSE didn’t respond to requests for comment outside of business hours in Mumbai.