For the first time, the futures and options (F&O) market share of BSE has surpassed that of its unlisted peer, National Stock Exchange (NSE), in April.
The listed bourse’s share in notional F&O turnover rose to 55.4% in April from 43.6% in March, while NSE’s share declined to 44.6% from 56.4%.
BSE’s average daily turnover (ADT) in the F&O segment grew nearly 20% month-on-month to ₹269.07 lakh crore in April. In contrast, NSE’s notional ADT fell about 26% to ₹216 lakh crore.
In the options segment, NSE’s total premium turnover declined 28% month-on-month to ₹12.9 lakh crore, while BSE reported a modest 5.6% increase to ₹6.63 lakh crore. Additionally, NSE’s average daily premium turnover dropped 35% to ₹61,417 crore, whereas BSE’s remained largely flat at ₹33,150 crore.
Despite this shift, NSE continues to dominate the overall options market, holding a 66% share in options premium turnover compared with BSE’s 34%.
Fee Advantage
“BSE’s lower transaction charges incentivised a shift from NSE,” said Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of equity research and head of technical and derivatives at Globe Capital Market.
On futures contracts, NSE charges 0.00183% (₹1.83 per ₹1 lakh), while BSE levies no fee. In options, NSE charges 0.0355% (₹ 36 per ₹ 1 lakh )compared with BSE’s 0.005% (₹ 5 per ₹ 1 lakh) on stock options.
Kumar added that shifting the expiry day from Tuesday to Thursday worked to BSE’s advantage. “This, along with the market regulator’s decision to limit exchanges to one weekly expiry, helped BSE gain a strong foothold in the F&O segment,” he said.
April also saw a divergence in trading volumes. F&O volumes on NSE fell 22% from March, while BSE recorded a 26% increase.
Valuation Recovery
After declining around 10% in March, benchmark indices recovered nearly 6% in April, supported by continued domestic inflows amid improved valuations. The Nifty 50 price-to-earnings ratio rose to about 21x from around 19x in March, though it remained below the five-year average of 23x.
In February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed raising STT on equity derivatives to curb speculative trading. The STT on futures was increased to 0.05% from 0.01%, while that on options premium and exercise was raised to 0.15% from 0.1% and 0.125%a, respectively.
