The share price of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) jumped nearly 4% on Monday as it launched a new series of options contracts on its bullion index – MCX BULLDEX. The launch comes at a time when market participants expect near-term volatility in these commodities after the sharp rally seen recently.
The MCX stock settled 3.5% higher at Rs 9,319.50 after hitting an intraday high of Rs 9,335. Praveena Rai, MD & CEO, MCX, said the introduction of options marks a pivotal development in India’s commodities ecosystem. “This is a unique and innovative product which will enhance the range of products in the commodity derivatives ecosystem and assist market participants to take exposure to a basket of commodities in the bullion segment,” Rai said.
MCX iCOMDEX Bullion Index (MCXBULLDEX) is one of the sectoral indices in the exchange’s iCOMDEX family and includes gold and silver futures listed on MCX. Each commodity within the index is weighted three-fourths by its liquidity and one-fourth by its physical market size in India, determined by local production and imports. Currently, the index has 60% weightage to the gold component and 40% to silver and the rebalancing happens annually.
According to contract specifications, these monthly index contracts will have a maximum of three-month trading cycle – the near month, mid-month and far month. On expiry of the near month contract, the new contracts are introduced for three-month duration.
The exchange said this launch aligns with MCX’s commitment to deepen India’s commodity markets through product innovation, enhanced transparency, and investor-friendly offerings. “Options on indices are highly popular as an investment tool, and options on a sectoral index like MCX BULLDEX is widely considered ideal for effective sectoral price risk management,” it said.
According to the index fact sheet, market participants including individual investors, professional traders and financial institutions such as hedge funds and mutual funds, can use the MCX iCOMDEX Bullion Index either as a reference benchmark for their investments in bullion or related asset classes or as the basis of investment products which provide direct exposure to bullion.
Commodity derivatives are increasingly contributing to the business of brokers and exchanges at a time when Sebi’s restrictions have reduced volumes in the equity derivatives segment. The recent NSE Market Pulse said, commodity derivatives market has emerged as its key growth driver, with commodity futures turnover surging 33x QoQ in the 2nd quarter of FY26—primarily led by strong traction in the newly introduced electricity futures contracts.