Key Points

"I am not aware of any such communication. Media reports are speculative, what we have been saying is out in the open," the SEBI Chairman said.

He added that reforms are needed, but the nature of those reforms is determined through a process.

Following his statement, BSE shares entered the green zone after declining during the morning hours. BSE shares were trading at Rs 2,400, up Rs 33 or 1.41 per cent as of 2.30 pm. The Nifty Capital Markets index also entered the green zone following the SEBI Chairman's comment, advancing 2.36 per cent after experiencing an intraday decline of over 1 per cent.

Shares of Angel One, Motilal Oswal, UTI AMC and CAMS saw a 0.45 per cent to 1.41 per cent increase. After reports surfaced on Tuesday that the market regulator and government are considering curbing weekly expiry to reduce speculation, shares of BSE and other capital market stocks started dipping and extended their losses today.

Last month, SEBI's Whole-Time Member Ananth Narayan had expressed concerns at the surge in F&O contracts and also said that the regulator would consider improving the quality of the F&O market "by extending the tenure and maturity of the products and solutions on offer".

"As many experts have pointed out, our Indian derivative market ecosystem is unique, in that on expiry days, comparable turnover in index options is often 350 times or more the turnover in the underlying cash market –an imbalance that is unhealthy, with several potential adverse consequences," he said.

A SEBI study in July 2025 found that the number of retail investors trading in F&O has decreased by 20 per cent compared to the previous year, but increased by 24 per cent compared to two years ago. Traders with a total turnover of less than Rs 1 lakh were the majority who left the F&O business.

Retail investors experienced a loss of nearly Rs 1.06 lakh crore in the F&O segment during FY2025, up 41 per cent from the Rs 74,812 crore loss in FY2024.

- IANS