Upcoming F&O Expiry - Apr ’26

As the Indian derivative market enters April 2026, the market participants are getting ready for the commencement of the new financial year (FY27). While March saw the year-end tax-harvesting and high roll-overs, April is expected to see fresh institutional flows, Q4 earnings expectations, and the establishment of new quarterly trends. It is essential for traders to be aware of the F&O expiry dates to ensure accurate management of positions. As derivative contracts can't expire on a trading holiday, April F&O expiries will have an important change in one of their weekly expiry dates. Here, we will explore the F&O expiry timelines across the NSE, BSE, and MCX in April 2026.What are F&O expiry dates?In the derivatives market, expiry is the last trading day for a futures or options contract. Once the market closes on that day, the contract is no longer in existence. Traders who have open positions have the following options:Square off: Close out the trade before the market closes to realise the profit or loss and avoid the complications of physical or cash settlement.Roll over: To sustain the exposure to the market, exit the current month's contract and enter a new position in the next month's contract.Let it expire: For options, out-of-the-money (OTM) options become worthless, while in-the-money (ITM) options are either cash-settled or physically delivered, depending on the underlying asset. The liquidity and volatility increase close to expiry dates as large institutions aggressively roll over or square off their positions. Thus, tracking the expiry calendar is the first line of defence for a trader against unexpected movements in the market.Important changes for April 2026The April 2026 trading calendar is interrupted by two market holidays falling on weekdays, Good Friday (3rd April) and Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti (14th April). While Good Friday falls on a Friday and hence does not disturb the regular Tuesday/Thursday expiry cycles, the Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti falls on Tuesday.As a contract cannot expire on a market holiday, the exchange rules dictate that the expiry takes place on the day before the holiday. As a result, traders will have to adjust their theta decay calculations as the NSE will see a preponed weekly expiry on 13th April in the second week of a month.Index expiries in April 2026 (NSE & BSE)Following the structural changes, the NSE follows a Tuesday expiry cycle, while the BSE follows a Thursday expiry cycle. Here are NSE and BSE index derivatives expiries for April.NSE Derivative ExpiriesDue to the trading holiday on Tuesday, 14th April, the NSE weekly expiry for that week is advanced to the preceding Monday on 13th April. ExchangeContract TypeIndexExpiry DatesNSEWeeklyNIFTY 507th April (Tuesday)13th April (Monday; shifted due to trading holiday on 14th April)21st April (Tuesday)28th April (Tuesday)NSEMonthlyNIFTY Next 50, BANKNIFTY, FINNIFTY, MIDCPNIFTY28th April (Tuesday) BSE Derivative ExpiriesThe BSE's Thursday cycle remains uninterrupted in April, as no trading holidays fall on a Thursday in April. ExchangeContract TypeIndexExpiry DatesBSEWeeklySENSEX2nd April (Thursday)9th April (Thursday)16th April (Thursday)23rd April (Thursday)30th April (Thursday)BSEMonthlyBANKEX, SENSEX5030th April (Thursday) Stock Expiries in April 2026 (NSE & BSE)Individual stock options and futures contracts also operate on the same principle of monthly expiry as their respective exchange indices. It is essential for traders who are holding stock derivatives positions to be aware of the monthly expiry dates to manage physical delivery risks and forced settlements. ExchangeSegmentContract TypeExpiry DateNSEStock Options/FuturesStocks28th April (Tuesday)BSEStock Options/FuturesStocks30th April (Thursday) Commodity expiries in Apr 2026 (MCX)For each underlying asset, commodity traders must keep track of expiry dates on an individual basis, as, unlike equities, the commodities do not follow a uniform expiry cycle at the end of every month. MCX contract expiries are spread across the month based on the specific metal, energy, or agricultural asset settlement cycle. Below are the expiry dates of various contracts on MCX for April 2026.Commodity Expiry for Futures ExchangeCommodity GroupContract TypeExpiry DateMCXGOLDFutures2nd AprilMCXGOLDMFutures3rd AprilMCXNICKELFutures15th AprilMCXCRUDEOILMFutures20th AprilMCXCRUDEOILFutures20th AprilMCXMCXMETLDEXFutures23rd AprilMCXMCXBULLDEXFutures24th AprilMCXNATGASMINIFutures27th AprilMCXNATURALGASFutures27th April Commodity Expiry for Options ExchangeCommodity GroupContract TypeExpiry DateMCXCRUDEOILOptions16th AprilMCXCRUDEOILMOptions16th AprilMCXSILVERMOptions21st AprilMCXMCXMETLDEXOptions23rd AprilMCXCOPPEROptions23rd AprilMCXZINCOptions23rd AprilMCXNATURALGASOptions23rd AprilMCXNATGASMINIOptions23rd AprilMCXNATGASMINIOptions23rd AprilMCXMCXBULLDEXOptions24th AprilMCXSILVEROptions24th AprilMCXGOLDMOptions28th April Wrap upThe expiry cycle in April 2026 requires traders to stay vigilant as the market transitions into a new financial year. While the BSE expiry schedule is smooth and uninterrupted, for NSE expiries, traders must be mindful of the preponed weekly expiry on 13th April, due to the Ambedkar Jayanti holiday.Managing the early week rollover in mid-April to the institutional investments capitalising on the fresh trends in FY27, the first thing that one needs to be aware of while deploying effective theta strategies and managing the market is the F&O expiry dates of April 2026.

Upcoming F&O Expiry - Apr ’26

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