Options glossary
Plain-English definitions of option chain terms for NSE traders: put-call ratio, max pain, open interest, OI change, implied volatility, Greeks, time value and support and resistance.
Put-Call Ratio (PCR)
The put-call ratio (PCR) is the total open interest of put options divided by the total open interest of call options for the same underlying and expiry.
Max Pain
Max pain is the strike price at which the total value of all outstanding call and put options would be lowest at expiry, which is the price where option buyers as a group would lose the most.
Open Interest (OI)
Open interest (OI) is the total number of derivative contracts, such as options or futures, that are open at a point in time and have not yet been squared off, exercised or expired.
Change in Open Interest (OI Change)
Change in open interest (OI change) is the difference between the current open interest of a contract and its open interest at the end of the previous trading day.
Implied Volatility (IV)
Implied volatility (IV) is the expected future volatility of the underlying that is implied by an option's market price, expressed as an annualised percentage.
Option Greeks
Option Greeks are measures of how an option's price changes when one input changes: delta for the underlying price, gamma for the change in delta, theta for the passage of time and vega for implied volatility.
Time Value (TV)
Time value is the part of an option's premium that is above its intrinsic value; it is what buyers pay for the chance that the option gains value before expiry.
Support and Resistance (from Option Chain)
In option chain analysis, support is the strike with the heaviest put open interest below the market and resistance is the strike with the heaviest call open interest above it, because option writers tend to defend the strikes they have sold.
Option Chain
An option chain is a table of all the call (CE) and put (PE) options available for an underlying such as NIFTY or a stock, arranged by strike price for one expiry, showing each option's price, open interest, OI change, volume and implied volatility.
OI Buildup
OI buildup is the reading of price change together with open interest change to tell what traders are doing: price up with OI up is long buildup, price down with OI up is short buildup, price up with OI down is short covering, and price down with OI down is long unwinding.
Option Chain Backtest
An option chain backtest replays the option chain of a past trading session so you can see open interest, OI change, PCR and support and resistance exactly as they stood at each minute, and check how a setup would have played out before using it live.
Market Mood Index (MMI)
The Market Mood Index (MMI) is a fear and greed gauge for the Indian stock market on a scale of 0 to 100: readings below 30 mean extreme fear, 30 to 50 fear, 50 to 70 greed and 70 and above extreme greed.
Option Chain Stock Screeners
Option chain stock screeners scan every F&O stock's option chain for open interest patterns, so you get a short list of stocks with strong support and resistance or fresh positioning instead of reading each chain by hand.
Option Chain Kaise Dekhe (Hindi)
Option chain ek table hai jisme kisi index ya stock ke saare call (CE) aur put (PE) options strike price ke hisaab se dikhte hain, har strike ka price, open interest (OI), OI change aur volume ke saath.
