How Scrapping Weekly F&O Expiries Could Reshape Retail Trading in India
Retail F&O losses hit ₹91,685 crore in FY26 as 87.7% of traders lost money.About 59% of index-options turnover came from same-day expiry contracts in FY26.CAS turnover hit $4.1B on Aug. 31, nearly 40 times its post-launch average. Scrapping Weekly F&O Expiries would change how Indian retail traders access short-duration derivatives, where activity remains concentrated near expiry. While some market participants have proposed removing weekly contracts, SEBI has neither proposed nor approved such a change. Even so, fewer expiries would materially affect users by changing trading frequency, capital allocation, and execution risk. Weekly Options Concentrate Retail Risk Near Expiry SEBI data show that 59% of index-options turnover in FY26 came from contracts expiring on the same day. Moreover, about 97% occurred within one week of expiry. Therefore, fewer weekly F&O expirations would reduce repeated opportunities to enter contracts approaching settlement and limit recurring events that attract short-term speculation. That concentration becomes more significant when viewed alongside retail trading losses. Active individual derivatives traders fell 18% to 87.5 lakh in FY26, yet their aggregate net losses still reached ₹91,685 crore. In addition, 87.7% of individual traders lost money, while options accounted for about 92% of total losses. Consequently, short-duration derivatives remain a key area of concern in









