Lockdown, tightening of regulatory framework hurt market volumes

Recent Sebi move, drop in securities' prices contribute to the fall

Though the stock markets continued to function amid lockdowns in several cities before the start of a 21-day nationwide restriction on Wednesday, trading activities took a beating. The average daily trading turnover for the futures and options (F&O) segment for this week was 66 per cent lower than the yearly average.

Market players said lockdowns and recent tightening of the regulatory framework by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) were to be blamed. Part of the reason for the drop in trading turnover was a sharp fall in the price of underlying securities. However, market players said