Upcoming F&O Expiry - May '26

With the Indian derivative market rolling into May 2026, market participants enter a new month with new F&O expiry dates. May has 2 major trading holidays, the first one is Maharashtra Day on 1st May and the other one is Bakri Eid on 28th May, which falls on a Thursday, disrupting the regular monthly expiry cycle of the BSE and leading to a one-day preponement of all BSE monthly contracts expiry to Wednesday, 27th May.With the shift of expiry structure of NSE to Tuesdays and BSE on Thursdays, effective from September 2025, it is important for traders to know the exact expiry dates for position management, rollover, and hedging. Since the derivative contracts cannot expire on a trading holiday, May will see its BSE monthly expiry and some MCX commodity contracts adjusted accordingly. Here, we will explore the F&O expiry dates in May 2026 for NSE, BSE, and MCX.What are F&O expiry dates?Expiry date in the derivatives market is the final trading day of a particular futures or options contract. After the market closes on that day, the contract no longer exists. Open positions held by traders can be either:Square off: Close the trade before the market closes to realise the profit or loss and avoid physical or cash settlement complications.Roll over: Exit the current month contract and enter a new position into the next month contract to continue exposure to the market.Let it expire: In options, on expiry, out-of-the-money options are worthless, and in-the-money options are cash-settled or physically delivered, depending on the underlying asset. Some futures contracts are settled at the final closing price, while some are physically settled.Liquidity and volatility tend to increase as expiry dates get closer, with large institutions rolling over positions. Thus, the best strategy to prepare for any sudden market movement would be to monitor the expiry calendar.Important changes for May 2026The May 2026 expiry cycle is interrupted by a weekday trading holiday, the Bakri Eid (Eid al-Adha) on 28th May, Thursday. As the BSE has a Thursday expiry cycle, both the BSE weekly and monthly expiries that would otherwise fall on 28th May are moved forward to Wednesday, 27th May.This does not affect the NSE monthly expiry, which is on the last Tuesday of the month, 26th May. Index expiries in May 2026 (NSE & BSE)After the new structural changes, the NSE follows a Tuesday expiry cycle, and the BSE has a Thursday cycle. Here are the NSE and BSE Index expiries:NSE Index ExpiriesThe NSE index derivatives follow a Tuesday expiry cycle. Since there is no Tuesday trading holiday in May 2026, all four weekly NIFTY expiries and the monthly expiry will be on their respective dates. ExchangeContract TypeIndexExpiry DatesNSEWeeklyNIFTY 505th May (Tuesday)NSEWeeklyNIFTY 5012th May (Tuesday)NSEWeeklyNIFTY 5019th May (Tuesday)NSEMonthlyNIFTY 50, BANKNIFTY, FINNIFTY, MIDCPNIFTY, NIFTYNXT5026th May (Last Tuesday of the expiry month) BSE Index ExpiriesThe BSE weekly and monthly expiry of the last week of May is shifted to Wednesday, 27th May, due to the trading holiday on 28th May (Bakri Eid, Thursday). ExchangeContract TypeIndexExpiry DatesBSEWeeklySENSEX7th May (Thursday)BSEWeeklySENSEX14th May (Thursday)BSEWeeklySENSEX21st May (Thursday)BSEMonthlySENSEX, BANKEX, SENSEX5027th May (Wednesday; shifted due to trading holiday on 28th May) Stock Expiries in May 2026 (NSE & BSE)Individual stock options and futures have the same monthly expiry pattern as their respective exchange indices. The stock derivative expiries for the month of May are: ExchangeSegmentContract TypeExpiry DateNSEStock Options/FuturesStocks26th May (Last Tuesday of the expiry month)BSEStock Options/FuturesStocks27th May (Wednesday; shifted due to trading holiday on 28th May) Commodity Expiries in May 2026 (MCX)Commodity traders must keep track of the expiry dates of each commodity individually, since MCX does not have a standardised end-of-month cycle. The expiries of MCX contracts are distributed throughout the month depending on the type of metal, energy, or agricultural commodity involved. ExchangeCommodityContract TypeExpiry DateMCXGOLDM (Gold Mini)Futures5th May (Tuesday)MCXSILVERFutures5th May (Tuesday)MCXCRUDEOILMFutures18th May (Monday)MCXCRUDEOILFutures18th May (Monday)MCXNICKELFutures20th May (Wednesday)MCXMCXMETLDEXFutures22nd May (Friday)MCXNATURALGASFutures26th May (Tuesday)MCXNATGASMINIFutures26th May (Tuesday)MCXMCXBULLDEXFutures27th May (Wednesday)MCXALUMINIUMFutures29th May (Friday)MCXLEADFutures29th May (Friday)MCXMENTHAOILFutures29th May (Friday)MCXGOLDTENFutures29th May (Friday)MCXALUMINIFutures29th May (Friday)MCXGOLDGUINEAFutures29th May (Friday)MCXSTEELREBARFutures29th May (Friday)MCXGOLDPETALFutures29th May (Friday)MCXLEADMINIFutures29th May (Friday)MCXZINCFutures29th May (Friday)MCXZINCMINIFutures29th May (Friday)MCXCOPPERFutures29th May (Friday)MCXCARDAMOMFutures29th May (Friday)MCXCOTTONFutures29th May (Friday)MCXCOTTONOILFutures29th May (Friday)MCXELECDBLFutures29th May (Friday)MCXCRUDEOILOptions14th May (Thursday)MCXCRUDEOILMOptions14th May (Thursday)MCXMCXMETLDEXOptions22nd May (Friday)MCXCOPPEROptions22nd May (Friday)MCXZINCOptions22nd May (Friday)MCXNATURALGASOptions22nd May (Friday)MCXNATGASMINIOptions22nd May (Friday)MCXSILVEROptions26th May (Tuesday)MCXSILVERMOptions26th May (Tuesday)MCXMCXBULLDEXOptions27th May (Wednesday)MCXGOLDOptions27th May (Wednesday)MCXGOLDMOptions29th May (Friday) Wrap UpWhile May has two trading holidays, only the 28th May holiday impacts the regular expiry structure. The strategic positioning of Bakri Eid on the last Thursday of the month leads to a trading holiday on 28th May and shifts the BSE expiry to Wednesday, 27th May, which leads to NSE and BSE monthly, and several MCX F&O contracts, all expiries closely aligned across consecutive trading sessions.Traders who handle multi-segment derivative books simultaneously should stay vigilant about expiry dates and the settlement cycle to easily navigate the May 2026 expiry season without disruption.

Upcoming F&O Expiry - May '26

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