The National Stock Exchange (NSE) was hit by a massive technical glitch during the first half of the trading session on Wednesday.  According to the stockbrokers and dealers, the problem began with rates of the Bank Nifty index not getting updated and later expanded to the Nifty index.

The brokers and dealers told that the issue with Bank Nifty feeds occurred between 10 AM and 10.20 AM. Around 11.40 AM, the NSE notified about suspending trading across the futures and options segment. Soon afterward, the NSE said it was suspending trading for the day till further notice. The NSE then shut down the trading for the entire market. Both Nifty and Bank Nifty are the largest traded derivative contracts of the NSE, and the glitch caused market disruption a day before the February month futures and options expiry, causing much heartburn among traders. Option writers profit the most if markets are shut for trading, as those who have bought or sold options lose out on time value.

Bank Nifty index had gained 22% between February 1 and February 16 and then fell by about 8% in the next few days. But two days ahead of the monthly derivatives expiry the index began to move up again. On Wednesday, the index was up almost 2% before it was hit by the tech glitch. Before this Wednesday, the NSE was previously hit by a massive tech glitch in December 2020.