JPMorgan India options ban augurs faster crackdown

Business Recorder reported that India's markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, banned Copthall Mauritius Investment, a JPMorgan-owned unit, and a Mumbai-based broker for allegedly manipulating prices. The combined fine of roughly $384,000 looks manageable, but the order came within six days of the alleged violation, while Jane Street's ban took more than 17 months.

A newly introduced closing auction session, which sets end-of-day share prices over a 20-minute window, began earlier this month and is meant to make pricing clearer for passive funds. According to the report, that mechanism has also made it simpler to spot and identify manipulation in the market.

Foreign portfolio investors and proprietary desks combined to book gross profits of 584 billion rupees ($6.11 billion) from Indian equity derivatives in the 12 months to March, nearly all earned by algorithm-driven entities, while retail traders lost 722 billion rupees. Turnover still fell 9% in the financial year ending March after earlier cooling measures, but further restrictions look close, and the report says the National Stock Exchange of India and Groww owner Billionbrains Garage Ventures would find a larger broker role unpalatable.