NSE to introduce pre-open session for index, stock futures from December 8, after BSE proposal

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) on Friday announced its proposal to introduce a pre-open session for index and stock futures in the equity derivatives segment, effective December 8, 2025. The announcement came a day after the BSE unveiled a similar plan with the same launch date.

In its circular to trading members, NSE said changes to the pre-open session would first be available in a test market environment from October 4, 2025. The exchange also stated that mock sessions would be conducted ahead of the rollout to ensure operational preparedness. It added that further operational modalities regarding the pre-open session would be issued through a separate circular.

The BSE, in its communication on Thursday, confirmed that testing in its systems would begin on October 6, 2025. It clarified that no changes were needed in the existing ETI API or market data structures. The same message formats already in use for pre-open sessions in the equity cash segment would be extended to derivatives, it added. The exchange also noted that other implementation details would be provided separately and advised trading members and third-party vendors to make necessary changes in their systems.

Following the development, shares of BSE were trading 2.34% lower at ₹2,126 apiece on the NSE at 12:38 PM. The stock has touched its intraday high of ₹2,184 and an intraday low of ₹2,115.10. The company’s market capitalisation stands at ₹86,666.70 crore.

Both announcements follow directives issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its circulars dated May 29 and June 4, 2025. SEBI had asked exchanges to introduce mechanisms to enhance transparency, improve price discovery, and strengthen risk mitigation in the equity derivatives market.

While both NSE and BSE have aligned their go-live date for the new functionality to December 8, their simulation timelines differ slightly, with NSE starting two days earlier, on October 4, compared to BSE’s October 6.