India derivatives: proprietary earn ₹44,500 cr, retail lose ₹72,000 cr
In FY2026, proprietary trading firms came out on top in India's equity derivatives market, pocketing ₹44,500 crore in profits.
Meanwhile, individual retail traders lost a combined ₹72,000 crore, though that's actually an improvement from last year's nearly ₹98,000 crore loss.
Most retail investors traded options at least once (99.3%), but only a small fraction tried their hand at futures.
India equity derivatives market cools
India's equity derivatives market cooled off this year: turnover growth dropped to just 4.2% (from 20.4% growth in fiscal 2025), with futures trading shrinking by 15%.
The number of active retail participants fell for the first time since fiscal 2016, down 18% to 8.75 million, and new entrants dropped sharply by 40%.
SEBI's tighter rules on speculative trading seem to have made many think twice before jumping in.