NSE Marks Historic Expiry Shift as Tuesday Becomes New Expiry Day

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has introduced a historic shift in the country’s derivatives market, moving the expiry day of all futures and options (F&O) contracts from Thursday to Tuesday. Effective from September 1, 2025, the change ends a 25-year-old tradition of Thursday expiries and is expected to reshape trading activity between NSE and BSE.

According to NSE’s circular, the transition took effect after the close of trading on August 28, 2025. From this week, all new contracts and existing open positions will expire on Tuesdays instead of Thursdays. This revision impacts multiple instruments, including Nifty weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and annual contracts, as well as Bank Nifty’s monthly and quarterly contracts.

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved the revised expiry schedule, which allows the NSE to adopt Tuesday as the official expiry day, while the BSE retains Thursday. Market participants believe this adjustment may lead to redistribution of trading volumes between the two major exchanges, potentially reducing the concentration of activity on a single day.

Market Performance Ahead of New Expiry

On Monday, ahead of the first Tuesday expiry, Nifty Index Futures closed 0.73% higher at 24,748. The session recorded an addition of 146 contracts in open interest, pointing to fresh long build-up by traders. Since the last expiry, the benchmark Nifty 50 has gained 0.5% in the September contract.

Open interest in Nifty has seen a decline of 12.5% due to short covering, but overall activity across the F&O space rose 24.4%, largely driven by put writing.

In options trading, call writing was most active at the 24,000 and 25,000 strike prices, while the Put-Call Ratio (PCR) for Nifty stood at 1.3, suggesting stronger interest in puts relative to calls.

FII Activity and Derivatives Outlook

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) added net long positions worth over ₹278 crore in Nifty Futures. Their total open interest in these contracts now stands over ₹27,700 crore, slightly higher than the previous session. Analysts note that this suggests foreign players are reducing their short exposure while cautiously building long positions.

Conclusion

The shift from Thursday to Tuesday expiries marks a significant milestone in India’s derivatives market, altering long-established trading dynamics. With NSE and BSE now operating on different expiry days, market participants are watching closely to see how trading volumes and investor strategies evolve under the new regime.