Weekly Expiry
A derivative contract that expires each week rather than monthly, concentrating an option's whole life into a few days.
How it is identified
Test: the contract's expiry falls on a designated weekday of the current week rather than at month end
Unit
qualitative
In depth
Weekly contracts compress time decay and gamma into a very short window, so a position's character changes within hours rather than weeks — an out-of-the-money written option can acquire full directional exposure in a single session. Turnover in Indian weekly index options grew to among the largest in the world, and SEBI's studies found that the overwhelming majority of individual traders in the segment lost money, leading it to limit each exchange to one weekly expiry. The instrument is not inherently different from a monthly one; the compression of theta and gamma is what changes the risk. Nothing here suggests trading them.
Worked example
A weekly at-the-money option priced at 90 with three sessions left loses roughly 30 points a day to decay, or 30 x 75 = ₹2,250 daily per lot. The same premium on a monthly contract would decay at a fraction of that rate.
Illustrative figures, chosen so the arithmetic is easy to follow. Not a live price and not a valuation of any company.
Educational reference only
This entry explains what “Weekly Expiry” means. It is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any numbers above are illustrative, not live prices, and nothing here predicts price direction or rates a stock. Consider your own circumstances and consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before acting.