Derivatives volumes may recover after settlement rule changes: Analysts

The move follows backlash from traders amid sharp swings in stock and index levels after the closing auction session (CAS) was implemented on August 3, which prompted some to scale back on trading activity. Total derivatives turnover on the National Stock Exchange of India fell 19.2 per cent ‌month-on-month to ₹34.48 trillion ($363.37 billion) in August, following the introduction of CAS. This added to a decline in volumes due to tighter regulations on lending to proprietary traders and higher transaction taxes.

"This (changes to CAS) should reduce expiry-day volatility under the closing auction session, benefiting brokers whose orders remain below pre-CAS levels," brokerage firm Jefferies said. Analysts ​now expect volumes to return to pre-CAS levels, although the extent of the recovery remains ‌uncertain. "The options traders who had moved away from the system may start coming back," said Raj Deepak Singh, vice president ​of ‌derivatives and quantitative research at ICICI Direct.

Under the revised rules, trading in index ‌derivatives will continue until 3:45 p.m. IST, except on expiry days when trading will end at 3.30 p.m. IST, SEBI said. Shares of ‌exchange ​operators BSE and ​National Stock Exchange of India fell 1.7 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively, on Friday, while those of brokerage firms were mixed. Angel One ‌fell 2.7 per cent ​and Groww rose 1.2 per cent. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel First Published: Oct 16 2026 | 12:43 PM IST