MUMBAI: Regulatory interventions by Sebi in the futures & options (F&O) segment during fiscal 2026, aimed mainly at reining in excessive speculative activities by retail investors, led to a dip in the number of F&O contracts traded on the bourses during the year. While options contract volumes dipped by 51.5%, the corresponding figure for the futures segment was nearly 18%, Sebi’s annual report said.However, in both premium and notional terms, while the options segment witnessed growth, the numbers for the futures segment showed a decline during the same period. This decline in F&O volumes during FY26 “was possibly driven by a series of regulatory interventions–including increased contract sizes, the rationalisation of weekly expiries, mandatory upfront premium collection etc, alongside an increase in the securities transaction tax,” the report said. It also disclosed granular details about investments by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in FY26, when net outflow by this group of investors was a little over Rs 1.5 lakh crore, an all-time record. The report said FPIs were net sellers of equities worth Rs 1.8 lakh crore, while they were net buyers of debt at Rs 25,807 crore.Again, they net bought stocks worth Rs 70,822 crore in the primary market but were net sellers worth a little over Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the secondary market. FPIs were net buyers in capital goods, telecom, and metals & mining, while were sellers in IT, financial services, FMCG and healthcare, it said.The report said that in terms of number of IPOs during FY26, India led the world, while in terms of money raised through this route it was third globally.
