Zerodha MIS Cover order Leverage

Intraday leverages for MIS / CO

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Intraday leverage for MIS and Cover Order (CO) on Zerodha is set by the exchange’s VAR + ELM (for equity) or SPAN + Exposure (for F&O) margin requirements. Post the peak margin rules , broker-extended leverage is no longer available.

MIS leverage

For equity intraday MIS:

Scrip typeMargin (% notional)Leverage
Liquid large-caps (Nifty 50)12-15%6.5-8x
Other large-caps15-20%5-6.5x
Mid-caps20-25%4-5x
Small-caps25-35%+3-4x
Surveilled (ASM Stage 1+)100%1x (no intraday leverage)

These are exchange VAR + ELM driven; Zerodha cannot offer below these.

Cover Order (CO) leverage

Cover Order is an intraday product with built-in stop-loss leg. Because of the mandatory stop, exchange margin calculation can be slightly different:

  • Slightly lower margin than pure MIS for the same scrip.
  • Tighter stop = lower margin requirement.
  • Wider stop = higher margin (closer to MIS).

For deep-stop CO trades, leverage similar to MIS. For tight-stop CO, slightly higher leverage.

Bracket Order (BO) leverage

Bracket Order has both stop-loss and target legs. BO leverage is typically:

  • Similar to or slightly higher than CO.
  • The built-in stop-loss reduces broker risk; margin can be lower.

Auto-square-off

For all intraday products (MIS, CO, BO):

  • Auto-square-off triggers ~15:10-15:20 IST for equity.
  • For F&O MIS, ~15:25 IST.
  • For commodity MIS, varies by segment session.

Failure to manually close before auto-square-off results in forced exit at market price (potentially worse than your intended exit).

See also

External references

References

  1. NSE Clearing, VAR + ELM and SPAN methodology, nseclearing.com.
  2. SEBI, Peak margin and intraday leverage framework, sebi.gov.in.
  3. Zerodha, Margin and product policies, zerodha.com.

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