NSE F&O

Derivatives

Futures and options across index and stock underlyings, with a full option chain.

The market

What derivatives trading is

A derivative takes its value from something else — an index or a share. A future is an agreement to trade at a set price on a set date. An option is the right, but not the obligation, to do so, bought for a premium.

Both are leveraged: you post margin rather than the full value of the exposure. That is the appeal and the danger. Leverage does not change the odds of being right, it changes how much being wrong costs.

The key structural difference from shares is expiry. Every derivative contract has a date on which it settles, whatever your view. A position cannot simply be held until it comes good — it resolves on schedule, and options lose value as that date approaches even when the underlying does not move.

What you can trade

Derivatives instruments

Every contract listed here is a real, checkable instrument on the exchange beside it. Availability depends on the segments enabled on your account.

NIFTYIndex futures & options

BANKNIFTYIndex futures & options

FINNIFTYIndex futures & options

MIDCPNIFTYIndex futures & options

Stock F&OSingle-stock futures & options

Contract types: Futures and options
Underlyings: Index and single-stock
Exchange: NSE F&O
Contract size: Fixed lots set by the exchange, revised by circular
Expiry: Weekly and monthly series
Order types: Market, Limit, SL and SL-M

Contract specifications are set by the exchange and revised periodically. The current lot size, tick size and expiry for any contract are shown on the instrument and carried through to the order ticket.

On the platform

How derivatives works here

Strikes and expiries

The option chain lists every strike and expiry for an underlying, and carries the contract’s lot size through to the ticket so the exposure is never a guess.

Margin, not balance

The ticket shows the margin a position actually consumes and what it leaves free — sizing against margin rather than account balance is the point.

Triggers that behave

SL and SL-M carry a real distinction between the trigger and the limit, and resting orders are visible in the book until they fire or are cancelled.

Each instrument reports whether its own segment is currently trading, and when the next session opens — shown live on the instrument and on the order ticket.

Before you trade

What can go against you

Every market has its own ways of losing money. These are the ones specific to this segment.

Leverage magnifies losses as much as gains. A position can lose substantially more than the margin first posted, and a margin shortfall can result in positions being squared off without warning.
Options decay. Every day that passes takes value out of a bought option, so a correct view that arrives too late still loses money.
Selling options carries risk that is not capped the way buying one is. The premium received is the most that can be gained; the loss is not similarly bounded.
Expiry is absolute. An out-of-the-money option expires worthless, and the entire premium is lost. This is a normal outcome, not an unusual one.
Gaps in the underlying pass straight through to the derivative, often amplified, so a stop may execute well past its level.

Questions

Derivatives questions

A future obliges both sides to settle at the agreed price on the expiry date. An option gives the buyer the right but not the obligation, in exchange for a premium paid up front. Buying an option caps your loss at that premium; a future does not.