HCLTECH Options — Where Positioning Sits Today

Where HCLTECH open interest sits

The heaviest call open interest is at the 1,350 strike, holding 10,21,600 contracts — 12.8% of all HCLTECH call open interest on the board, 5.73% above the spot of 1,277. 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 1,300 with 4,69,600 contracts, 10.1% of HCLTECH put open interest, 1.82% 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 HCLTECH's PCR is saying

HCLTECH is carrying 46,27,200 contracts of put open interest against 79,93,600 of call, a put-call ratio of 0.58 — 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 0.58 and has held to 0.58 — 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.

HCLTECH against its max pain

Max pain for HCLTECH computes to 1,310, with spot at 1,277 — 2.60% below 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 pain curve around it is flat — the neighbouring strikes cost writers only 1.8% more than 1,310 does. A basin that shallow means several strikes are near-equally cheap to settle at, so the level is a weak magnet and small shifts in open interest can move it.

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 HCLTECH today

The biggest unwind is −400 put contracts at 1,470. 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 HCLTECH

The at-the-money straddle on HCLTECH costs 63.95 — 33.05 for the call and 30.90 for the put at the 1,280 strike. That sum is what the market charges to be covered in either direction, which makes it the move being priced in: about 5.01% of spot, or roughly 1,216 to 1,344 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 26.4% on the call and 25.8% on the put. The call carries 0.6 points more, which is the less common direction and points to upside being bid.

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