MCX gains on Sebi-RBI nod to launch currency options

NEW DELHI: Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd surged over 2 per cent in early trade on Monday after the company said on Sunday that it received approval from market regulator Sebi and the RBI to launch currency options on its platform.

At 09:50 a.m., MCX was trading 2.4 per cent higher at Rs 1,079.30. It has hit a low of Rs 1,067 and a high of Rs 1,088.41 today.

Financial Technologies Ltd was trading 1.4 per cent higher at Rs 775. It has hit a low of Rs 770 and a high of Rs 775.20 today.

The Sebi-RBI nod came nearly four years after MCX-SX started its currency derivatives trading platform, the only one that it offers currently.

“At July-end, it had a turnover of about Rs 13,500 crore in the currency derivatives segment, and a market share of 43.6 per cent. The two other exchanges which offer currency derivatives trading platform are NSE and United Stock Exchange (USE),” TNN reported.

This regulatory nod would enable MCX-SX to expand its offerings in the currency derivatives segment (CDS) by introducing currency options in the dollar-rupee currency pair, a release from the exchange said.

MCX-SX is controlled by Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the country's biggest commodity bourse.

“This move will allow the bourse to offer its members a product which, for a large number currency traders, is a complementary as well as a hedging product for their foreign currency positions,” the TNN report added.