SEBI Cracks Down on Manipulative Trading in India's New Closing Auction Session
SEBI, India's market regulator, has shown its teeth by swiftly banning JPMorgan Chase entity Copthall Mauritius Investment Ltd. and local brokerage Mansi Share and Stock Broking Ltd. from participating in Indian securities markets.
The ban came just six days after the regulator alleged that the two entities engaged in manipulative trading during India's new Closing Auction Session (CAS) on August 13, 2026.
CAS is a mechanism designed to land on one equilibrium closing price for eligible stocks, similar to what major exchanges like the NYSE and LSE already use. On August 13, which coincided with the weekly expiry day for BSE Sensex derivatives, Copthall executed large buy orders totaling millions of shares during the CAS, significantly exceeding industry norms for the session.
Mansi Share placed concurrent sell orders during the same auction window, many of which were later canceled. The combined wrongful gains from this coordinated activity were estimated at approximately 36.8 million rupees, roughly $384,000, with Copthall's share being around 29.6 million rupees and Mansi's portion at about 7.2 million rupees.