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Weekly Expiry Rules 2026: NIFTY on Tuesday, SENSEX on Thursday, and What Changes on Expiry Day

Updated 1 November 2026

Indian index options used to expire on almost every weekday, with a different index each day. SEBI's October 2024 measures ended that: each exchange may keep weekly contracts on one benchmark index. For NSE that is NIFTY. For BSE it is SENSEX. Every other index derivative now expires monthly. The next NIFTY expiry is 03 Nov 2026 and the next SENSEX expiry is 05 Nov 2026.

Who expires when

INDEXEXCHANGEWEEKLYEXPIRY WEEKDAYLOT SIZE
NIFTYNSEYesTuesday65
BANKNIFTYNSENoTuesday30
FINNIFTYNSENoTuesday60
MIDCPNIFTYNSENoTuesday120
NIFTYNXT50NSENoTuesday25
SENSEXBSEYesThursday20
BANKEXBSENoThursday30
SENSEX50BSENoThursday75
  • Weekly contracts (NIFTY, SENSEX) expire every Tuesday or Thursday respectively.
  • Monthly contracts expire on the last Tuesday (NSE) or last Thursday (BSE) of the month.
  • Quarterly contracts are the March, June, September and December monthlies, listed further out.
  • Stock F&O on NSE follows the NSE monthly date.

How the rules got here

WHENCHANGE
Before Nov 2024Weekly options on several NSE and BSE indices, expiring on different weekdays
20 Nov 2024One weekly benchmark per exchange; minimum index contract value of ₹15 lakh at introduction; extra 2% ELM on short options on expiry day
1 Feb 2025Option premiums collected upfront from option buyers; calendar-spread margin benefit removed on expiry day
1 Apr 2025Intraday monitoring of index derivative position limits
1 Sep 2025NSE derivatives expire on Tuesdays, BSE derivatives on Thursdays

Dates are from SEBI and exchange circulars as reported at the time; check the circulars themselves for the precise effective dates and any later changes.

Holidays move expiry earlier

If the expiry day is a trading holiday, the contract expires on the previous trading day, never the next. A Tuesday holiday moves NIFTY's weekly expiry to Monday, not Wednesday. The expiry calendar applies the published NSE and BSE holiday lists, so every date it shows already includes these shifts.

Upcoming expiries that a holiday has moved:

INDEXEXPIRES ONWEEKDAYTYPE
NIFTY09 Nov 2026Mondayweekly
BANKNIFTY23 Nov 2026Mondaymonthly
FINNIFTY23 Nov 2026Mondaymonthly
MIDCPNIFTY23 Nov 2026Mondaymonthly
NIFTY23 Nov 2026Mondaymonthly
NIFTYNXT5023 Nov 2026Mondaymonthly
BANKNIFTY25 Jan 2027Mondaymonthly
FINNIFTY25 Jan 2027Mondaymonthly
MIDCPNIFTY25 Jan 2027Mondaymonthly
NIFTY25 Jan 2027Mondaymonthly
NIFTYNXT5025 Jan 2027Mondaymonthly

What changes on expiry day

1. Extra Extreme Loss Margin on short index options

Short positions in index options that expire that day carry an additional 2% Extreme Loss Margin on their notional value:

additional ELM = strike × lot size × number of lots × 0.02

e.g. 2 lots of a NIFTY 25,000 strike, lot 65:
     25,000 × 65 × 2 × 0.02 = ₹65,000 extra margin

That's on top of normal SPAN and exposure margin, and it applies only to contracts expiring that day. Work it out for your own position with the ELM calculator.

2. No calendar-spread benefit on the expiring leg

A calendar spread (one leg in this expiry, the other in a later one) normally gets a margin offset because the legs partly hedge each other. On expiry day that benefit is withdrawn for the leg that expires, so the margin on a spread can jump on the morning of expiry. Brokers may refuse or square off positions that don't have the extra margin, sometimes with little warning.

3. Time decay and sensitivity peak

On the last day, options have almost no time value left. Out-of-the-money options lose value quickly, and options near the money become extremely sensitive to small index moves (high gamma). A 50-point NIFTY move that barely matters on a monthly option a week out can double or wipe out a near-the-money weekly option on expiry afternoon.

Settlement

  • Index derivatives are cash settled. Futures and in-the-money options settle against the final settlement price, based on the index's closing value on expiry day.
  • In-the-money index options are exercised automatically. Out-of-the-money options expire worthless.
  • Stock F&O is physically settled. See the lot size guide for what that means for a position held to expiry.

An expiry-day checklist

  1. The evening before, check which of your index positions expire tomorrow.
  2. Work out the extra ELM on any short options, and the lost calendar-spread benefit.
  3. Make sure the margin is in the account before 09:15, not during the session.
  4. Decide in advance what you will do with near-the-money options in the last hour.
  5. For stock positions, close or roll before expiry unless you intend to take or give delivery.

See also

Frequently asked questions

Which indices have weekly expiry in 2026?
Only NIFTY on NSE and SENSEX on BSE. BANKNIFTY, FINNIFTY, MIDCPNIFTY, NIFTYNXT50, BANKEX and SENSEX50 expire monthly.
What day is NIFTY expiry?
Tuesday. NIFTY weekly contracts expire every Tuesday, and the monthly contract on the last Tuesday of the month. If Tuesday is a trading holiday, expiry moves to the previous trading day.
What day is SENSEX expiry?
Thursday, with the monthly contract on the last Thursday of the month, moved to the previous trading day if Thursday is a holiday.
Why was Bank Nifty weekly expiry stopped?
SEBI's October 2024 measures allowed each exchange to offer weekly options on only one benchmark index. NSE kept NIFTY, so BANKNIFTY weekly contracts were discontinued in November 2024.
What is the extra margin on expiry day?
Short positions in index options expiring that day attract an additional 2% Extreme Loss Margin on notional value, and the calendar-spread margin benefit is removed for the expiring leg.
Are index options cash settled?
Yes. Index futures and options settle in cash against the final settlement price on expiry day. Stock F&O, by contrast, is physically settled.

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