India's individual equity derivatives traders fall about 20% in fiscal 2026, regulator says
- Indian equity derivatives saw an accelerated exit of 4.6 million traders in FY26, as participants faced over $21 billion in aggregate losses
BENGALURU: Individual traders in India’s equity derivatives declined about 20% in fiscal year 2026, the country’s markets regulator said on Thursday.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India said individuals in the segment suffered aggregate losses totalling 2.03 trillion rupees ($21.21 billion) during the last two financial years.
The pace of exits accelerated in fiscal 2026, with 4.6 million traders who had participated in equity derivatives in fiscal 2025 not returning the following year, compared with 2.6 million exits in fiscal 2025, according to the study.
SEBI has introduced a series of measures since November 2024 to curb excessive speculation, including raising contract sizes for index derivatives, reducing weekly index expiries and requiring upfront collection of option premiums.
The exit rate rose to 43% in fiscal 2026 from 27% a year earlier, SEBI said.