FOCIT Options — Where Positioning Sits Today

Where FOCIT open interest sits

The heaviest call open interest is at the 39,000 strike, holding 6,210 contracts — 13.9% of all FOCIT call open interest on the board, 3.30% above the spot of 37,755. 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 35,000 with 6,885 contracts, 11.4% of FOCIT put open interest, 7.30% 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 FOCIT's PCR is saying

FOCIT is carrying 60,300 contracts of put open interest against 44,595 of call, a put-call ratio of 1.35 — put-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 1.47 and has fallen to 1.35 — a move of −0.12. Calls have been added faster than puts since the open, the reverse footprint — fresh call writing above spot, or puts being closed.

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

FOCIT against its max pain

Max pain for FOCIT computes to 37,200, with spot at 37,755 — 1.47% 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 0.0% higher than at 37,200. 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 FOCIT today

The largest fresh call position went on at 39,500, +3,060 contracts (+165.9%). Its premium fell over the same window, which is the footprint of call writing rather than call buying.

On the put side the heaviest addition is at 35,000, +3,240 contracts (+88.9%). Premium fell alongside it — put writing, which is usually read as support being built at that strike.

The biggest unwind is −675 put contracts at 35,500. 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 FOCIT

The at-the-money straddle on FOCIT costs 217.05 — 140.00 for the call and 77.05 for the put at the 37,800 strike. That sum is what the market charges to be covered in either direction, which makes it the move being priced in: about 0.57% of spot, or roughly 37,583 to 38,017 by expiry on a breakeven basis.

The straddle has moved −75.5% 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 20.3% on the call and 20.3% 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.