What Are the Index Expiry Days in India?
An index expiry day is the last day an index futures or options contract can be traded before it settles. In India, all NSE index contracts expire on Tuesday and all BSE index contracts expire on Thursday.
Nifty 50 has weekly contracts that expire every Tuesday.
Sensex has weekly contracts that expire every Thursday.
Bank Nifty, FinNifty, Nifty Midcap Select and Nifty Next 50 have only monthly contracts, which expire on the last Tuesday of the month.
Bankex and Sensex 50 have only monthly contracts, which expire on the last Thursday of the month.
If an expiry day is a market holiday, the contract expires on the previous trading day.
These rules have applied since 1 September 2025, when NSE moved its expiry day from Thursday to Tuesday. Since November 2024, each exchange can offer weekly contracts on only one benchmark index.
Trading an expiry? You can backtest an expiry day strategy across years of past expiries, then replay any past expiry session candle by candle in the Option Simulator. The full steps are covered later in this guide.
All Index Expiry Day at a Glance
Only two indices have weekly contracts: Nifty 50 on NSE and Sensex on BSE. Every other index expires once a month.
Before an expiry, you can track strikes, OI and IV on the Nifty option chain, Sensex option chain and FinNifty option chain.
Index Expiry Calendar: October to December 2026
Three Tuesday holidays move NSE expiries to Monday in this period: 20 October, 10 November and 24 November. No BSE expiry shifts before the end of the year.
October 2026
November 2026
December 2026
“All NSE monthly contracts” means Nifty, Bank Nifty, FinNifty, Nifty Midcap Select and Nifty Next 50, plus stock futures and options. “All BSE monthly contracts” means Sensex, Bankex and Sensex 50.
Dates follow the 2026 NSE and BSE holiday lists. Check the full share market holiday list and the exchange circulars before you trade, since exchanges can add or shift holidays.
Weekly Expiry Day in the Stock Market
The stock market now has two weekly expiry days: Tuesday for Nifty 50 on NSE and Thursday for Sensex on BSE. No index has a weekly expiry on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.
Older guides still show a different expiry for each weekday, so here is what changed:
Before November 2024, Midcap Nifty, FinNifty, Bank Nifty, Nifty and Bankex each had their own weekly expiry day.
From 20 November 2024, SEBI allowed weekly contracts on only one benchmark index per exchange, so the other weekly contracts stopped.
From 1 September 2025, NSE moved all its expiries to Tuesday and BSE moved all its expiries to Thursday.
The contract size for each weekly expiry is set by the exchange. Check the current Nifty lot size and Sensex lot size before placing a trade.
Stock Market Expiry Days List
Stock futures and options do not have weekly contracts. They expire once a month, on the last Tuesday of the month on NSE.
Physical delivery means an in-the-money stock option held to expiry turns into a buy or sell of the actual shares. Index contracts settle in cash. For help picking between weekly and monthly contracts, read our guide on choosing the right expiry date for options.
What Happens If Expiry Falls on a Holiday?
The contract expires on the previous trading day. For example, Dussehra falls on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, so that week’s Nifty contract expires on Monday, 19 October.
The shift applies to weekly and monthly contracts alike.
If the previous day is also a holiday, expiry moves back again to the nearest trading day.
Exchanges announce each shift in a circular, so check it before a holiday week.
What Happens on Expiry Day?
On expiry day, every open contract in that series settles, and option prices move faster than on any other day.
Time decay peaks. Theta works fastest in the last hours, so out-of-the-money premiums can fall close to zero by the close.
Gamma is highest. Small index moves cause large swings in at-the-money option prices.
Contracts settle at the close. Index options are settled in cash against the index’s official closing price.
Positions you do not close are settled automatically. In-the-money index options pay out the difference, and out-of-the-money options expire worthless.
If you are new to how Delta, Gamma and Theta behave near expiry, start with our guide to option Greeks. For practical rules, see these expiry day trading tips.
How to Test an Expiry Day Strategy
Test an expiry day strategy in two ways before trading it live. A backtest shows how the rules performed across many past expiries, and the Option Simulator lets you replay single expiry days to see how the trade behaved hour by hour.
Step 1: Write Down the Exact Rules
A test is only as good as the rules you give it. Decide these before you start:
Pick the index and expiry, such as the Nifty weekly expiry on Tuesday.
Set the entry time, for example 9:20 AM.
Choose the strikes, such as the ATM call and put for a short straddle or four legs for an iron condor.
Fix the stop-loss, target and exit time.
You can set all of this without code in the Strategy Builder. The 9:20 straddle is a common starting point for expiry day tests.
Step 2: Backtest It Across Past Expiry Days
Backtest the rules on historical data, limited to expiry days only. Then look past the total profit:
Check the win rate and the average loss on losing days.
Find the maximum drawdown, which shows the worst losing streak.
Note the single worst expiry day and its date.
The expiry day itself changed over time. Nifty expired on Thursday until August 2025 and has expired on Tuesday since September 2025. Check the results for each period separately so one schedule does not hide problems in the other.
Step 3: Replay the Worst Days in the Option Simulator
A backtest gives you averages, but you trade one expiry at a time. The Option Simulator lets you pick a past date and replay that session candle by candle on historical option chain data for Nifty, Bank Nifty, FinNifty and Sensex.
Use it to study the dates your backtest flagged:
Enter the same strikes at the same time as your rules.
Watch Delta, Gamma, Theta and Vega update as the index moves.
Follow how your P&L changed through the day, not just where it closed.
Try an adjustment mid-session, such as shifting a leg or exiting early, and compare the result with your original rules.
This is where you learn whether you could actually follow your stop-loss on a fast expiry afternoon. It also lets you practise expiry trading without risking capital.
Step 4: Forward Test Before Going Live
Once the backtest and replays look sound, run the strategy in live markets with virtual money through paper trading or a forward test. This shows how it handles current volatility and real fills before any capital is at risk.
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Build a Tested Expiry Day Strategy
Start with the expiry you trade, then define your entry time, strikes, stop-loss and exit. Backtest those rules across past expiry days, replay the worst sessions to see how they unfolded, and forward test before you commit capital.
AlgoTest helps you move from an idea to a strategy you can inspect and test before deciding whether to deploy.
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FAQs
What is the all index expiry day?
All NSE index contracts expire on Tuesday and all BSE index contracts expire on Thursday. Nifty and Sensex expire every week, while Bank Nifty, FinNifty, Nifty Midcap Select, Nifty Next 50, Bankex and Sensex 50 expire on the last Tuesday or Thursday of the month.
Which index options have a weekly expiry?
Only Nifty 50 and Sensex. Nifty weekly options expire every Tuesday on NSE, and Sensex weekly options expire every Thursday on BSE.
What is the expiry day of Nifty?
Nifty weekly contracts expire every Tuesday, and monthly contracts expire on the last Tuesday of the month. If Tuesday is a holiday, expiry moves to Monday.
Has the Nifty expiry day changed?
Yes. Nifty expired on Thursday until August 2025. Since 1 September 2025, it has expired on Tuesday.
Why is Nifty expiry on Tuesday?
SEBI asked each exchange to hold all its equity derivatives expiries on either Tuesday or Thursday. NSE chose Tuesday and BSE chose Thursday, so the two exchanges no longer expire on the same day.
Does Bank Nifty still have a weekly expiry?
No. Bank Nifty weekly contracts stopped in November 2024. Bank Nifty now has only monthly contracts, which expire on the last Tuesday of the month.
Is there an index expiry on Monday, Wednesday or Friday?
Not as a regular schedule. An NSE expiry moves to Monday only when the Tuesday is a market holiday, and a BSE expiry moves to Wednesday only when the Thursday is a holiday.
How can I practise expiry day trading without risking money?
Replay past expiry days in the Option Simulator. You can enter trades on historical option chain data, watch the Greeks and P&L change through the session, and test adjustments before trading live.