Weekly expiry: meaning and current Indian index rules

Weekly expiry is the scheduled end of an options series listed on a weekly cycle. As of 15 October 2026, Nifty weekly options normally expire on Tuesday and Sensex weekly options on Thursday. Bank Nifty, FinNifty and Midcap Nifty no longer have weekly options. A trading holiday can move expiry earlier, so the date printed on the exact contract matters more than a remembered weekday.

Which index options still expire weekly?

NSE/FAOP/64506, dated 10 October 2024, retained weekly options only on Nifty among its indices. The final weekly expiries were 13 November 2024 for Bank Nifty, 18 November 2024 for Midcap Select and 19 November 2024 for Financial Services. Do not reuse an old weekly Bank Nifty strategy example as if the same series were still listed.

The change did not remove every longer expiry. In particular, Bank Nifty options include quarterly contracts as well as monthly contracts. Saying it has only monthly options would also be inaccurate. Check the series available for the specific product instead of inferring its contract cycle from the absence of weeklies.

Quick answer: expiry day by index

Bank Nifty has no weekly expiry. Its last weekly option expired on 13 November 2024. It now has monthly and quarterly contracts that expire on the last Tuesday of the expiry month. Nifty 50 is the only NSE index with weekly options (Tuesday). Sensex is the weekly index on BSE (Thursday).

Why older Nifty Thursday guides are out of date

NSE/FAOP/68747, dated 25 June 2025, set Nifty weekly expiry to Tuesday and specified a transition for existing and newly generated contracts. Newly generated contracts expiring on or after 1 September 2025 use the revised weekday; existing long-dated options followed the circular's separate realignment provisions.

BSE notice 20250623-59, dated 23 June 2025, changed Sensex weekly expiry to Thursday for the revised contracts after 1 September 2025. These are separate exchange changes. Neither a historical Thursday Nifty chart nor a historical Tuesday Sensex contract establishes the current weekday.

A holiday exception also does not replace the regular rule. NSE's current specifications move a Tuesday expiry to the previous trading day if Tuesday is a trading holiday. BSE's notice makes dates subject to declared holidays. Confirm the actual listed expiry and any later exchange notice before carrying a position.

Does Bank Nifty still have a weekly expiry?

No. SEBI circular SEBI/HO/MRD/TPD-1/P/CIR/2024/132 (1 October 2024) said each exchange may offer weekly expiry on only one of its benchmark indices from 20 November 2024. NSE kept Nifty 50. In NSE/FAOP/64506 (10 October 2024) it discontinued weekly options on Bank Nifty, Midcap Select and FinNifty. The last weekly expiries were 13 November 2024 for Bank Nifty, 18 November 2024 for Midcap Select and 19 November 2024 for FinNifty.

Bank Nifty traders now choose between the monthly and the quarterly series. Both end on the last Tuesday of their expiry month, after the shift from Thursday in September 2025. Any strategy write-up that shows a weekly Bank Nifty option, or a Wednesday or Thursday weekly expiry for it, describes a contract that is no longer listed.

Upcoming expiry dates (checked 28 Oct 2026)

These dates follow from the standing rules above and the 2026 exchange holiday list. Two Tuesdays in November are trading holidays (10 and 24 November), so those expiries move to the previous trading day, which is Monday. Always match the date to the contract shown in your broker platform, because an exchange notice can change a date.

For longer lists see the F&O lot size and expiry calendar.

What happens when a Nifty weekly option expires

Nifty index options are European style, meaning exercise occurs at expiry rather than early. NSE Clearing describes automatic exercise of in-the-money options and cash settlement for index options. In-the-money means the option has exercise value: the settlement index is above the strike for a call, or below it for a put.

For a call, exercise value per unit is the settlement index minus the strike when positive. For a put, it is the strike minus the settlement index when positive. Multiply by the contract quantity for the gross cash amount. That amount is not the trade's profit, because the original premium and costs still count.

NSE Clearing states that an index derivative's final settlement price is based on the relevant index close on the last trading day, subject to the authority's specified alternative. Use that published settlement value when checking the payout. An option's last premium trade or an arbitrary index tick is a different price.

An expired series ends. Keeping exposure into another expiry requires a separate position in another contract; the old option does not automatically become the next weekly series. The options basics guide explains strike, premium and contract identity.

Sensex weekly expiry on BSE

BSE moved Sensex weekly options to Thursday in the same change that moved NSE to Tuesday (notice 20250623-59, 23 June 2025). Sensex is the only BSE index with weekly options. Bankex and Sensex 50 have monthly contracts that end on the last Thursday of the month. Sensex has its own contract size, so do not reuse a Nifty lot size when you size a Sensex trade. Check the BSE contract list for the quantity.

Weekly versus monthly expiry

• Number of days left: a weekly option can have only a few days, so decay is faster per day. A monthly option spreads decay over weeks. See the theta decay page.
• Price per option: a weekly option with the same strike is usually cheaper than a monthly one because it has less time left.
• Choice of strikes and liquidity: trading is often thickest in the nearest expiry, but check the order book for the series you plan to use.
• Rolling: a weekly ends sooner, so holding a view for longer means a new contract and new costs.

Our weekly vs monthly expiry guide compares the two in more detail.

Worked example: exercise value versus profit

This fictional example uses an October 2026 Nifty call with strike 25,000, premium ₹80 and 1 lot. NSE's market-lot file checked on 15 October 2026 lists 65 units for that contract month. No price in this example is a market quote or a suggested trade. Premium paid is ₹80 × 65 = ₹5,200.

Suppose the final settlement index is 25,120. The call has 25,120 − 25,000 = 120 points of exercise value per unit. Gross proceeds are 120 × 65 = ₹7,800. Gross profit after the original premium is ₹7,800 − ₹5,200 = ₹2,600, before brokerage and statutory charges.

At a settlement index equal to the strike of 25,000, the call's exercise value is zero, so the option purchase loses the ₹5,200 premium before costs. Gross expiry breakeven is 25,000 + 80 = 25,080. An option can therefore be in the money while the overall trade still loses after premium.

Use the lot size reference tool as a starting point, then verify the exact series with the exchange. The STT calculator explains the separate tax treatment of an option sale and exercise; costs should be reconciled with the broker's final records.

Short expiry does not make a trade predictable

A weekly label tells you when the contract ends. It does not tell you the premium path, the likelihood of profit or whether a price will remain inside a range. Before expiry, a premium still responds to changes in the underlying and market expectations. Avoid describing every expiry-day premium as certain to fall throughout the session.

For a useful journal entry, retain the actual expiry date, strike, call or put, side, premium and quantity. Record whether the exit was a market trade or final settlement, and keep costs separate. The Indian options journal guide helps distinguish the original plan from what happened.

What usually happens on expiry day

On the last day of a contract, the time value left in an option is small and shrinks fast. Option prices can also jump around because a small move in the index changes whether a strike finishes in or out of the money. That sensitivity is called gamma. Spreads between the buying and selling price can widen. None of this means prices must fall or rise. It means the same size move has a larger effect on the premium than it did a week earlier.

Final settlement works as the page already explains: index options are settled in cash at the exchange's final settlement price, and in-the-money options are exercised automatically. Positions you do not want exercised should be closed before the contract stops trading. Check your broker's cut-off times, which can be earlier than the exchange's.

Record what actually happened for each expiry-day trade. In OneTradeJournal you log the trade by hand, with your stop, target, strategy and emotions. Over a few weeks the reports show whether expiry-day trades sit inside or outside your plan. It estimates charges per trade, so the cost of many small trades is visible. It does not place orders or give signals.

SEBI rules that shaped weekly trading

The October 2024 measures in SEBI/HO/MRD/TPD-1/P/CIR/2024/132 are what cut the number of weekly indices to one per exchange. The change of NSE and BSE expiry days to Tuesday and Thursday came separately in June 2025 through NSE/FAOP/68747 and BSE notice 20250623-59. Read the circular text itself for details of other measures in the October 2024 package.

Weekly expiry questions

Sources

• NSE/FAOP/68747: expiry-day revision update (checked 15 October 2026).
• NSE/FAOP/64506: weekly contracts discontinued (checked 15 October 2026).
• Notice 20250623-59: expiry-day revision (checked 15 October 2026).
• Current equity derivatives contract specifications (checked 15 October 2026).
• Market lots by contract month (checked 15 October 2026).
• Final exercise settlement (checked 15 October 2026).
• Index final settlement price (checked 15 October 2026).