Hudson River Trading's India unit showed modest growth in fiscal 2026, according to filings compiled by Tofler. Revenue rose 3.5% to 32.5 billion rupees, roughly $344 million, while profit increased 2.5% to 22.6 billion rupees in the three months through March 31. But in the year ended March 2025, profit had leapt 156%.
Hudson River Trading did not reply when asked to comment on the financials of its India unit.
India's booming markets drew in high frequency traders and market makers including HRTI, Optiver Holdings LLC, IMC Global Holdings LLC, and Citadel Securities LLC, helped by a burst of options activity that set off fierce competition for traders and engineers. Then, starting in November 2024, regulators moved to cool retail speculation in derivatives.
Those steps included ending weekly Bank Nifty expiry contracts, raising contract sizes, and tightening position limits. HRTI's latest numbers cover the period when those changes began to bite, but they capture only part of the squeeze and come before additional measures such as an increase in securities transaction taxes effective April 2026 and tighter lending rules after July.
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Some of the restrictions have thinned options liquidity, leading traders to shift activity into different parts of the market. "As a result, HFT costs are higher, forcing them to recalibrate their strategies," said Tejas Shah, who is the head of trading and a director at Equirus Securities in Mumbai. He added, "The main reason for slowing growth among high frequency traders is the end of weekly options."
You can see it in the tape. The National Stock Exchange said, according to the exchange, August's average daily premium value for index options trading dropped 43%, hitting a four-year low.
Thinner options markets can mean wider spreads and more selective liquidity, which changes how fast quant firms deploy capital and where they look for edge. The bottom line: keep an eye on liquidity and who is providing it, because the mix is shifting along with the rulebook.
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