DLF Options — Where Positioning Sits Today

Where DLF open interest sits

The heaviest call open interest is at the 700 strike, holding 20,28,250 contracts — 22.4% of all DLF call open interest on the board, 3.72% above the spot of 675. 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 680 with 7,50,500 contracts, 13.2% of DLF put open interest, 0.76% above spot. That strike is in the money, so it is not acting as support — price is already beneath it. Heavy in-the-money put open interest more often reflects protection bought before the move than a level being defended now.

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

What DLF's PCR is saying

DLF is carrying 56,65,800 contracts of put open interest against 90,53,500 of call, a put-call ratio of 0.63 — mildly call-heavy 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 0.63 and has held to 0.63 — a move of 0.00. That is effectively flat: positioning has not changed sides today.

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

DLF against its max pain

Max pain for DLF computes to 670, with spot at 675 — 0.73% above it. That strike is where the total value of all open contracts expiring would be lowest. It is arithmetic on the current open interest distribution, not a forecast, and the distribution keeps changing.

The curve is defined around it: the nearest strike either side costs writers 2.1% more than 670. A trough that distinct is a stronger reference than a flat basin, though it still describes positioning rather than predicting settlement.

There are 21 sessions to expiry. This far out the figure moves as positions roll, and it is least informative early in a series — worth watching for direction of travel rather than as a target.

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

What changed in DLF today

The biggest unwind is −950 call contracts at 800. 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 DLF

The at-the-money straddle on DLF costs 32.75 — 14.25 for the call and 18.50 for the put at the 680 strike. That sum is what the market charges to be covered in either direction, which makes it the move being priced in: about 4.85% of spot, or roughly 647 to 713 by expiry on a breakeven basis.

The straddle has moved 0.0% since the open. That is close to flat, so today's decay and any volatility move have roughly offset.

Implied volatility at the money is 25.3% on the call and 24.9% 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.