Nifty Option Chain Explained: How to Read OI, PCR & Max Pain

Option chain: NIFTY weekly, sample data

Expiry in 4 days

Calls						Strike	Puts
Call OI	Call Chng in OI	Call Volume	Call IV	Call LTP	Call Chng	Strike	Put Chng	Put LTP	Put IV	Put Volume	Put Chng in OI	Put OI
9,420	+2,146	32,543	15.1	655.65	−66.00	24,550	−1.65	8.15	15.1	1,55,453	+16,008	47,380
14,860	−1,072	54,318	14.7	607.30	−65.95	24,600	−1.60	9.75	14.7	1,38,407	+24,051	71,560
6,210	−99	21,126	14.5	560.00	−65.95	24,650	−1.55	12.45	14.5	1,29,435	+8,856	38,940
18,930	+6,839	42,803	14.2	513.00	−65.75	24,700	−1.40	15.40	14.2	2,56,804	−9,053	82,610
7,480	+1,955	22,337	13.9	466.65	−65.50	24,750	−1.10	19.05	13.9	1,37,028	−2,566	49,270
26,340	+6,070	1,06,879	13.7	421.75	−65.10	24,800	−0.70	24.10	13.7	3,40,311	+9,882	1,12,450
9,870	+135	23,443	13.5	378.05	−64.45	24,850	−0.05	30.35	13.5	1,87,347	+10,361	55,830
31,550	+1,305	80,895	13.3	335.75	−63.60	24,900	+0.90	38.05	13.3	2,90,012	+15,079	86,720
12,640	+4,047	46,063	13.1	295.15	−62.35	24,950	+2.05	47.35	13.1	2,04,132	+23,690	61,340
68,210	+16,988	2,82,639	12.9	256.45	−60.70	25,000	+3.75	58.65	12.9	7,11,716	+53,160	1,42,960
21,470	+2,510	1,26,052	12.8	220.90	−58.70	25,050	+5.70	73.05	12.8	2,57,330	+4,056	58,410
49,880	+12,768	4,61,716	12.7	187.90	−56.30	25,100	+8.20	90.05	12.7	3,86,894	+27,012	79,550
36,720	+2,612	1,93,913	12.6	157.70	−53.40	25,150	+11.10	109.80	12.6	4,89,434	−2,067	44,280
						Spot 25,180
91,640	−1,522	5,39,594	12.5	130.45	−50.00	25,200ATM	+14.50	132.50	12.5	7,06,803	+21,267	63,170
58,330	−2,736	3,55,203	12.4	106.15	−46.25	25,250	+18.25	158.20	12.4	2,31,079	+1,815	23,640
1,04,870	+39,741	5,67,197	12.3	84.95	−42.15	25,300	+22.35	186.95	12.3	1,14,391	−39	31,020
61,920	+5,705	3,61,427	12.3	67.65	−38.00	25,350	+26.50	219.60	12.3	60,175	−173	11,480
88,450	−8,478	2,41,763	12.3	53.10	−33.75	25,400	+30.80	255.05	12.3	64,279	+6,736	17,960
57,160	+8,486	2,12,354	12.3	41.05	−29.55	25,450	+35.00	292.95	12.3	25,940	+1,600	6,930
1,48,630	+52,587	4,76,438	12.3	31.25	−25.45	25,500	+39.10	333.10	12.3	79,502	+4,821	21,370
52,780	+5,417	1,76,048	12.3	23.40	−21.60	25,550	+42.95	375.20	12.3	20,283	−616	4,860
96,310	+3,056	2,78,557	12.4	17.75	−18.30	25,600	+46.25	419.55	12.4	26,874	+2,970	8,740
41,260	−8,052	1,28,709	12.4	12.90	−15.10	25,650	+49.50	464.65	12.4	10,125	−145	3,120
83,540	−2,022	3,15,264	12.5	9.60	−12.45	25,700	+52.10	511.30	12.5	17,129	−879	5,630
33,870	+5,391	56,116	12.6	7.05	−10.20	25,750	+54.35	558.70	12.6	4,935	+87	2,410
79,120	+9,220	1,98,513	12.7	5.15	−8.25	25,800	+56.30	606.75	12.7	10,168	−542	4,280

Shaded cells are in the money: calls with strikes below spot and puts with strikes above it, so the ATM row can be shaded on one side. The arrow beside each strike points to that side. Bars under OI compare open interest across both sides. Sample data, not live prices.

Help: Strike 25,200

Strike 25,200: At the money

Both contracts on this row use 25,200 as their strike: the level Nifty is compared with at expiry.

It is the at-the-money strike, the one nearest to the sample spot of 25,180. Spot is 20 points below it, so this put is ₹20.00 in the money and this call is 20 points out of the money.

Open interest here: 91,640 contracts on the call side and 63,170 contracts on the put side.

Lesson: ITM, ATM, OTM

Help topics

8 lessons

Guide: reading the chain column by column

An option chain lists every call and put for one expiry, one row per strike. Calls are on the left, puts on the right, and the strike price runs down the middle. Read it across: each row pairs the call and the put that share a strike. Every number in the sample above can be selected, and the help window explains it.

Start in the middle: strike and spot

Find the at-the-money strike first, the one closest to the spot price. In the sample, spot is 25,180 and the ATM strike is 25,200. Calls with strikes below spot and puts with strikes above it are in the money, so the 25,200 put on the at-the-money row is already ₹20.00 in the money. In-the-money cells are shaded, and the arrow beside each strike points to that side. ITM, ATM and OTM explains why.

The six columns on each side

OI (open interest): contracts still open at the strike. More on open interest.
Chng in OI (change in OI): contracts opened minus contracts closed since the previous close. What a negative change means.
Volume: contracts traded today, whether they opened a position or closed one.
IV (implied volatility): the yearly volatility built into the premium. Reading IV.
LTP (last traded price): the premium of the last trade, per unit of Nifty.
Chng (change in price): how far that premium has moved since the previous close.

The put side repeats the same columns in mirror order, so the two premium columns sit right beside the strike.

Where positions sit

Scan the OI bars. In the sample, call OI is heaviest at 25,500 (1,48,630 contracts) and put OI at 25,000 (1,42,960). Traders often mark these strikes as places where option writers have positioned. They describe open positions today; they are not forecasts.

Two numbers built from the whole chain

Adding OI across every strike gives the put-call ratio: 11,35,910 ÷ 13,11,460 = 0.87 for the sample. Asking where writers would pay out least at expiry gives max pain: 25,100. Both sit in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

Price and OI together

Compare each contract’s change in price with its change in OI to name what happened in the session: long buildup, short buildup, short covering or long unwinding. OI buildup covers all four, and the Greeks explain why a premium moves the way it does.

A reading routine

Note spot and the ATM strike.
Scan OI on both sides for the largest positions.
Check change in OI to see where positions were added or closed today.
Read PCR and max pain as summaries of the whole chain.
Look at IV across strikes, and at the Greeks for the strikes you are studying.

This routine describes the chain. It does not tell anyone what to trade.

Educational content, not investment advice. Every figure here comes from a synthetic sample chain, not live prices.