India's options skew points to gamification, says Axis Mutual Fund

The derivatives market comprises futures and options, with contracts available on index and individual stocks

Domestic equity markets have become a huge draw for speculators with the derivatives market clocking nearly 400 times the volume of the underlying cash market.

In a note titled ‘Gamification of Indian Equities’ by Axis Mutual Fund’s chief investment officer Ashish Gupta has highlighted several data points, which throws the spotlight on excessive speculative activity.

The note underscores that the number of active derivatives traders in the domestic markets have jumped 8 times to 4 million from less than half a million in 2019.

In comparison, in the cash market, the number has swelled from 3 million to 11 million