When stocks hit circuit limits, you may not be able to square off your intraday positions. If you cannot close these positions, they automatically convert to delivery trades, creating significant risks, including auction penalties and margin blocks.
When your sell position hits upper circuit
When a stock hits the upper circuit price, only buyers remain in the market, and no sellers are available. Since you cannot repurchase the stock you sold for intraday trading, your trade automatically converts to delivery.
What happens next:
- If you hold the stock in your demat account, it will be delivered to the buyer
- If you don't have the shares, you face short delivery or default on the sell trade
- Exchanges conduct auctions to purchase shares on your behalf and deliver them to the buyer on T+2
- You may face an auction penalty based on the settlement price
- Zerodha blocks 120% of the closing price on the sell trade date in your account with the narration "Short delivery margin blocked for sale of [scrip name]" until the auction completes
When your buy position hits lower circuit
When a stock hits the lower circuit price, only sellers remain in the market with no buyers available. You cannot sell the stock you bought for intraday trading, so your trade automatically converts to delivery.
What happens next:
- If you have sufficient funds in your account, the stock will be delivered to your demat account
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If you have insufficient funds, you have two options:
- Add the required funds to complete the transaction
- Sell your existing holdings to cover the required funds
- If you don't take either action, Zerodha will sell the stock to cover the required funds