KOTAKBANK Options — Where Positioning Sits Today

Where KOTAKBANK open interest sits

The heaviest call open interest is at the 425 strike, holding 2,08,22,000 contracts — 30.5% of all KOTAKBANK call open interest on the board, 1.43% above the spot of 419. 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 400 with 75,78,000 contracts, 17.2% of KOTAKBANK put open interest, 4.53% below spot. Put open interest concentrated below price is usually treated as support for the same reason, and breaks the same way.

Both sides are unusually concentrated — the top strike alone carries 30.5% of its side. A distribution that peaked tends to behave like a genuine pin while it lasts, and to move fast when it breaks, because there is little open interest at the next strike to slow it.

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

What KOTAKBANK's PCR is saying

KOTAKBANK is carrying 4,40,76,000 contracts of put open interest against 6,83,44,000 of call, a put-call ratio of 0.64 — 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 0.64 and has held to 0.64 — 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.

KOTAKBANK against its max pain

Max pain for KOTAKBANK computes to 420, with spot at 419 — 0.24% 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 curve is defined around it: the nearest strike either side costs writers 14.3% more than 420. 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 KOTAKBANK today

KOTAKBANK is not carrying enough open interest this session for a meaningful intraday flow read. The table above is the full picture the exchange feed gives for this underlying — on a thin book, a single trade can move a strike to the top of the list, so no level is called out here.

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

The move priced into KOTAKBANK

The at-the-money straddle on KOTAKBANK costs 12.70 — 5.10 for the call and 7.60 for the put at the 425 strike. That sum is what the market charges to be covered in either direction, which makes it the move being priced in: about 3.03% of spot, or roughly 412 to 438 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 15.1% on the call and 15.9% on the put. The put carries 0.9 points more, the usual shape when downside protection is bid up relative to upside.

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