

NSE F&O pre-open margin rule catches brokers off guard
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The first day of the new futures and options (F&O) pre-opening session on Monday drew mixed reactions, with many stakeholders welcoming the move while brokers raising concerns about a sudden, unexpected rule change. Just before the F&O pre-open session was to begin, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) issued a circular informing brokers that client margins would be blocked before trades are executed during the 9:00–9:08 am window.
This is very different from the transaction rules for the normal market hours of 9:15 am–3:30 pm. In normal trading, a trade is executed first and then the margin is blocked. But NSE informed brokers late Friday that this rule would be reversed for the F&O pre-open, which one discount broker described as a “bolt out of the blue." The broker said on the condition of anonymity that the NSE introduced the new rule to prevent traders from taking large positions during the pre-open session with an intent to disrupt the market equilibrium.
However, this broker emphasized that the exchange should relax this requirement for traders who are simply squaring off or closing an existing position during the pre-open, since that would not create any new risk. For example, those with outstanding buy or sell positions in Nifty futures from Friday should be allowed to reverse the position in the pre-open without having to pay fresh margin, the broker said. "This (margin) rule could apply for those initiating a fresh position during pre-open.
Those merely squaring off should not need to have the margins blocked. We are in touch with NSE on this, but since it's the first day, probably their systems will need some time to be tweaked," the broker explained. Kamlesh Shroff, managing
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