BSE shares in focus as NSE moves weekly expiry to Tuesday

BSE shares will be in focus on Tuesday as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) implements a major shift in its derivatives market structure starting today, moving the weekly expiry of Nifty contracts from the long-standing Thursday slot to Tuesday.

The move fundamentally reshapes the trading landscape for options market participants and opens the door for the BSE's Sensex derivatives to gain greater traction.

The NSE’s decision to shift the expiry to Tuesday changes how traders plan their strategies around time decay, positioning, and risk. Expiry day, which had long been synonymous with Thursday in the Indian options market, now shifts two days earlier, placing Monday directly before the new expiry day.

This transition may directly benefit BSE, which has now positioned Sensex options to expire on Thursdays, taking over NSE’s previous spot.

According to analysts, this could lead to increased activity on the BSE platform, especially for event-driven trades. Most major policy announcements, such as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) meetings, typically occur mid-week.

Having Sensex expiry on Thursday makes it strategically well-suited to capture the post-policy market moves.

“Post-policy-day moves could be better captured through BSE options since Thursday expiry aligns more strategically for such plays,” explained market expert Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

Unlike Nifty, which is largely preferred by institutional traders for broader positional bets, Sensex options are popular for their lower lot sizes and higher volatility, making them appealing to retail and active intraday traders. This dynamic may now shift in BSE’s favor as traders look to realign their strategies across both exchanges.

The Sensex derivatives segment has already been witnessing strong momentum. Between March and December 2024, Sensex F&O accounted for nearly 70% of total index derivatives trading volume across NSE and BSE combined. The momentum accelerated further in January 2025 when BSE moved the Sensex expiry from Friday to Tuesday, resulting in a 12% month-on-month volume spike.

With NSE now moving its expiry to Tuesday, BSE’s Thursday slot could attract traders seeking better alignment with mid-week news flows and event outcomes. “Since late 2023, Sensex F&O has seen a steady increase in trading volume,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial, adding that the Thursday positioning could further strengthen its appeal.

The change also alters the weekly trading rhythm, particularly in how option premiums behave. Time decay (or theta decay)—a critical component in options pricing—will now see its sharpest movement between Friday and Monday, compressing trading windows and turning Mondays into high-stakes sessions for Nifty traders. Previously, Mondays were relatively calm days for positioning ahead of Thursday expiry.

The new setup creates a two-part opportunity for options traders. Fridays may become ideal for short-sellers to capture early time decay, while BSE’s Thursday expiry opens up fresh positioning opportunities mid-week. As a result, many traders may now look to BSE’s Sensex options for mid-week momentum plays.

James pointed out that Friday has now become a “golden window” for initiating short positions, with little opportunity to escape from time decay later in the week. “Premium expansion and directional entry-exits will be largely front-loaded,” he said, emphasizing that BSE’s Thursday expiry could serve as an anchor point for new strategies.

The move also impacts monthly positioning in stock options, with increased theta pressure due to weekends falling just before expiry—particularly for single stock options with Monday positioning now becoming more sensitive.

Also read: NSE’s expiry day shift marks historic change: First Tuesday expiry tomorrow

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)