What Is Leverage in the Stock Market?

Imagine you want to buy a house worth Rs.50 Lakhs but are you willing to pay the full price from your pocket? Generally you won’t. You might pay a down payment of Rs.10 Lakhs, and for the remaining amount you might take a loan from the bank for the remaining Rs.40 lakhs. Even if the bank is paying most of the amount for your house, the house still belongs to you. If there is an increment in the property prices you will get the benefit and not the bank.    

This is exactly how leverage in the stock market works. It allows you to buy shares worth much more than the cash you have in your account. You pay a small percentage, and your broker pays the rest.

Many people search for leverage meaning in trading because they must have heard stories of making fast money. While it is true that leverage helps you grow a small account quickly, it requires strict discipline. In this blog, we will explain everything about leverage, so you can understand and use it while you make your next trade.

What is Leverage in the Stock Market and how it works? 

Leverage is basically a short-term loan from your broker. To get this loan, you must keep some money in your account as a security deposit. This deposit is called “Margin.”

In India, for intraday trading (buying and selling on the same day), brokers usually give you up to 5 times (5x) leverage. This means for every Rs.1 you have, you can buy stocks worth Rs.5.   

Example: Suppose you have ₹10,000 in your trading account and a stock, ABC Ltd, is priced at ₹1,000 per share. Without leverage, you can buy 10 shares. A 5% rise to ₹1,050 gives you a ₹500 profit. 

With 5× leverage, you can buy 50 shares worth ₹50,000 using the same ₹10,000. 

A 5% rise now earns ₹2,500, a 25% return on your capital. But a 5% fall causes a ₹2,500 loss, and a 20% fall wipes out your entire ₹10,000.

Read Also: Difference between Margin Trading and Leverage Trading

Types of Leverage in Stock Market and their benefits

In India, brokers offer different types of leverage products. Let’s look at the most common ones.

Intraday Leverage (MIS)

MIS means Margin Intraday Square-off, in this type of trading you buy shares and you get a leverage of up to 5x but here is the catch you need to square-off your position before the market closes around 03:20 PM.  

Investors get a benefit that they don’t have to pay any interest to the broker as the money is returned on the same day. But if you forget to sell the broker will automatically sell you shares even if you are incurring losses and you might also be charged with a penalty fee.

Margin Trading Facility (MTF)

MTF stands for Margin Trading Facility, this is specifically for the investors that are looking to hold their stocks for more than one day. In this the investors need to pay a part of the money (around 25%) and the rest of the amount is paid by the broker on your behalf, by this you can hold the stocks for a longer period. As investors here are borrowing money for a long term, interest is charged. The broker charges an interest rate of 12% to 18% per year (approx 0.04% per day). Here the investor must “pledge” (deposit) the bought shares to the broker as security.

Derivative Leverage (Futures and Options)

When you trade Futures or Options (F&O), you are naturally using leverage. In this the investors need to pay a token advance known as Margin to buy a contract worth lakhs. . This allows traders to take large positions with limited capital, magnifying both profits and losses. 

To reduce excessive risk, regulators introduced new margin rules in 2025. These rules limit how much leverage traders can use, ensuring positions are better backed by capital and reducing the chances of sudden, heavy losses for investors. 

Options are derivatives that give the buyer the right, not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset at a fixed price before expiry. Calls benefit from rising prices, puts from falling prices. Buyers pay a premium, which is the maximum loss, but gains can be significant due to leverage.

Markets Where You Can Use Leverage

Leverage is not just for buying company shares. In India, you can use leverage in several different markets.

1. Equity Market (Stocks)

This is the most common place for beginners.

• Intraday: You can buy shares of companies like Reliance, Tata Motors, or Infosys with 5x leverage if you sell them on the same day.
• Delivery: Using MTF, you can buy these shares and hold them for weeks with up to 5x leverage.

2. Derivatives Market

This market is built entirely on leverage.

• Indices: You can trade the entire market like Nifty 50 or Bank Nifty using Futures and Options (F&O). One can buy contracts that require a small margin money to control a large value.
• Stocks: You can also trade Futures contracts for specific stocks in the market. For example, one lot of HDFC Bank futures might be worth ₹10 Lakhs, but you can trade it with just ₹1.5 Lakhs.   
• Commodity Market: This market is mainly for trading raw materials and commodities like bullions, metals, energy, crude oil, pulses, etc. You can go to the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) for trading futures of commodities.

3. Currency Market (Forex)

You can trade on currency pairs like USD/INR (Dollar-Rupee), EUR/INR (Euro-Rupee), etc. Currency prices move very little (often just a few ticks in a day). 

To make a meaningful profit, you need high leverage. Brokers allow you to control a large amount of dollars with a very small rupee deposit.

Read Also: What is Trading on Equity?

Advantages of Leverage in the Stock Market

1. Capital Efficiency (More with Less): As an investor you can get benefits as you can directly get the money as leverage to start your financial investing. New investors and small traders can take decent positions in the market without needing lakhs of rupees. It helps you use your capital efficiently.
2. Higher Return on Investment (ROI): Even a small movement in the stock price can give you a good return. Leverage helps you to magnify your return percentage, which then helps the investors in growing their small accounts as compared to the traditional investors.
3. Ability to Buy Expensive Stocks: Stocks that are of high value can also be opted by the small traders (like MRF & Honeywell). If the stock costs around Rs.20,000 and you only have Rs.10,000 then using leverage can make this happen and you can afford the stock.
4. Short Selling Opportunities: Leverage can be very useful during the falling market scenario, you can “short sell” first and buy later to earn profit from the falling prices. Using intraday leverage short selling can be made very accessible and easy for retail traders.

Risks of Leverage 

1. The “Margin Call” Risk: If the trade that you have invested in starts to fall your broker will start getting worried. If your loss gets too close to your deposited amount, the broker will ask you to add more money immediately. This is what is known as a Margin Call. If you don’t add money, the broker will sell your shares at a loss without consulting you.   
2. Over-Trading (Revenge Trading): When traders lose money on a leveraged trade, they often get disheartened. They take a bigger trade with even more leverage to “recover” the loss. This is a huge mistake as it usually leads to bigger losses.
3. Ignoring the “Black Swan” Events: Sometimes, the market can get affected by sudden bad news and crash 10% or 20% in minutes. If you are using 5x leverage, a 20% crash means you lose 100% of your money instantly. You might end up owing money to the broker at the end of the day
4. High Costs in MTF: If you use MTF (holding positions for days) and the stock price does not move, you still lose money. Why? Because of the daily interest you will have to pay for the borrowed funds. This interest eats into your profits.

Conclusion

Leverage is a powerful tool if used sensibly. It allows common people to participate in the stock market with significant power. It creates opportunities for high returns and helps in capital efficiency.

However, you should treat it with respect. Do not use maximum leverage just because your broker offers it. Start small. If you are new, trade with your own money first. Once you learn how to make consistent profits, then slowly use leverage to increase your gains.

Remember, the goal is to stay in the market for a long time. Use leverage as a way to build wealth, not to gamble it away.

S.NO.	Check Out These Interesting Posts You Might Enjoy!
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4	What is Margin Funding?
5	What is Pay Later (MTF) & Steps to Avail Pay Later?
6	Pledging Shares vs Pay Later (MTF): Key Differences
7	What is Operating Profit Margin?
8	What is SPAN & Exposure Margin?
9	Top Tips for Successful Margin Trading in India
10	Margin Trading vs Short Selling – Key Differences