ICICI Direct has launched a live display of the Indicative Equilibrium Price (IEP) on its trading platforms. This feature helps investors monitor price formation during the Closing Auction Session (CAS), which SEBI introduced on August 3, 2026, to replace the previous closing price calculation method. The update aims to provide better clarity for derivatives traders and portfolio managers as they navigate the new auction-driven system.
ICICI Direct has started rolling out a real-time display of the Indicative Equilibrium Price (IEP) across its trading apps and website. This update is designed to help traders see how stock prices are forming during the Closing Auction Session (CAS) before the market officially shuts for the day.
The move comes shortly after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) changed the way closing prices are calculated for stocks that have derivatives contracts. Effective August 3, 2026, the market moved away from the old volume-weighted average price method to an auction-driven system. This new process combines buy and sell orders from 3:15 pm to 3:35 pm to find a single, final closing price for the day.
The IEP feature on ICICI Direct allows users to monitor the balance of buy and sell orders in real-time. For investors and traders, this visibility is important because the closing price now has a direct impact on the settlement of futures and options contracts. Before this, the price was an average of trading activity over the last 30 minutes, which was generally more predictable. Now, the final price is determined by an auction, which can be more dynamic.
While the change is meant to make price formation more transparent, it has come with some initial hurdles. Since the shift to the auction system on August 3, some market participants have noted temporary liquidity issues and higher-than-expected volatility in the final minutes of trade. Traders who rely on automated systems to execute orders at the close have also had to adjust their algorithms to handle the new mechanism.
For retail investors, the main takeaway is that the closing price of a stock may now show more movement than it did under the old system. The IEP is intended to serve as a guide to help traders understand these movements better before they finalize their positions. ICICI Direct expects to complete the full rollout of this feature across its platforms by August 14, 2026.
Moving forward, the primary monitorable for investors will be how the auction mechanism settles prices during periods of market stress or high volatility. Investors dealing in derivatives should pay close attention to how the indicative price compares to the final settled price to manage their risks effectively.