The National Stock Exchange (NSE) announced on Tuesday, 4 March, that all Nifty index weekly derivatives contracts will expire on Monday instead of Thursday with effect from April 4, after the beginning of the new fiscal (FY26).

In a circular, NSE said that the expiry day for Nifty weekly Futures & Options (F&O) contracts will change from Thursday to Monday of the expiry week, while the expiry day for Nifty monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly contracts will shift from the last Thursday of the month to the last Monday of the expiry month.

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NSE’s new dates for F&O expiry

The leading stock exchange also shifted the F&O expiry for Bank Nifty, FinNifty, Nifty Midcap Select and Nifty Next50 to the last Monday of the expiry month from April 4. “The circular shall come into effect from April 4, 2025, i.e. Expiry day for all existing contracts will be revised to ‘New Expiry Day’ on April (EOD),” said NSE.

“Revised expiry date of all existing derivatives contracts shall be available in the contract file, which shall be generated on April 03, 2025, end of the day, which shall be applicable for trading on April 04, 2025,” added NSE in its circular.

Last year, BSE shifted the monthly expiries of Sensex, Bankex, and Sensex50 to the last Tuesday of every month. This became effective from January 1, 2025. Sensex’s weekly contracts also expire on Tuesday. Derivatives trading lets participants speculate on underlying asset prices without owning them in their portfolios. 

In financial markets, a derivative typically refers to a forward, future, option, or any other hybrid contract of pre-determined fixed duration linked for the purpose of contract fulfilment to the value of a specified real or financial asset or to an index of securities. There are two types of derivative contracts: futures and options. 

A futures contract is a legally binding agreement to buy or sell the underlying security on a future date, while an options contract gives the buyer or holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price within or at the end of a specified market period.