BANKEX Options — Where Positioning Sits Today

Where BANKEX open interest sits

The heaviest call open interest is at the 62,000 strike, holding 40,380 contracts — 10.0% of all BANKEX call open interest on the board, 1.50% above the spot of 61,085. Call open interest concentrated above price is commonly read as resistance, on the reasoning that writers there are defending the level. It is a crowding observation, not a rule — the level holds until that open interest unwinds.

On the put side the weight is at 60,000 with 56,550 contracts, 15.5% of BANKEX put open interest, 1.78% below spot. Put open interest concentrated below price is usually treated as support for the same reason, and breaks the same way.

New to this? Read the Open Interest guide — how to read it, with worked examples.

What BANKEX's PCR is saying

BANKEX is carrying 3,65,700 contracts of put open interest against 4,02,060 of call, a put-call ratio of 0.91 — broadly balanced positioning. PCR has no universally good value; it is read against its own recent range, and the direction it is moving carries more than the level.

It opened the session at 0.61 and has risen to 0.91 — a move of +0.30. Puts have been added faster than calls since the open, which is the footprint of put writing below spot or of call unwinding above it.

New to this? Read the PCR guide — how to read it, with worked examples.

BANKEX against its max pain

Max pain for BANKEX computes to 61,000, with spot at 61,085 — 0.14% above it. That strike is where the total payout to option buyers at expiry is smallest. It is a level read from the current Open Interest distribution, not a prediction, and the distribution keeps changing.

The pain curve around it is flat — the total payout at the neighbouring strikes is only 1.8% higher than at 61,000. A basin that shallow means several strikes have almost the same total payout, so the level is a loose reading and small shifts in Open Interest can move it.

There is 1 session left to expiry. The level is worked again at every reading, so it moves as the Open Interest changes.

New to this? Read the Max Pain guide — how to read it, with worked examples.

What changed in BANKEX today

The largest fresh call position went on at 62,000, +27,990 contracts (+225.9%). Its premium rose over the same window, pointing to buyers lifting the strike rather than writers selling it.

On the put side the heaviest addition is at 59,000, +46,560 contracts (+22171.4%). Premium rose alongside it, which points to protection being bought rather than sold.

The biggest unwind is −1,950 call contracts at 62,600. Positions closing matters as much as positions opening — a level defended by open interest stops being defended when that open interest leaves, and a break through a strike that is unwinding is a different event from a break against one that is intact.

Change is measured against this session's opening snapshot rather than the previous close, so the overnight gap and the positions rolled at the open do not swamp the reading.

New to this? Read the OI Change guide — how to read it, with worked examples.

The move priced into BANKEX

The at-the-money straddle on BANKEX costs 735.05 — 118.90 for the call and 616.15 for the put at the 61,500 strike. That sum is what the market charges to be covered in either direction, which makes it the move being priced in: about 1.20% of spot, or roughly 60,765 to 62,235 by expiry on a breakeven basis.

The straddle has moved −15.9% since the open. Premium coming out that quickly usually means implied volatility is falling, time is passing, or both — which is why an option position can lose money with the direction called correctly.

Implied volatility at the money is 9.4% on the call and 9.4% on the put. The two legs are priced almost identically, so there is no meaningful skew at the money right now.

New to this? Read the ATM Premium guide — how to read it, with worked examples.