🧱 Option Walls
Option open interest clusters at round strikes, and those clusters are watched by everyone who trades the index. This is where they are today — call OI above spot, put OI below it — drawn as a two-sided ladder so the stacks are visible at a glance.
Open interest by strike
Red bars are call open interest, green bars are put open interest, both to the same scale. The highlighted row is the strike nearest spot; the outlined bars are the two largest stacks.
What the walls do and do not mean
A large stack of call open interest above spot is often described as resistance, and a large put stack below it as support. The reasoning is that option writers hedge, and that hedging leans against the move.
It is not a rule. Open interest moves with price at least as often as price stops at open interest — when an index runs through a strike, the writers unwind and the "wall" simply relocates. Treat these as crowded strikes that many participants are watching, which is a real fact about positioning, and not as a level the index is obliged to respect.
Max pain is the strike at which the total intrinsic value of all open contracts would be smallest at expiry. It is reported here because people look for it. The evidence that price gravitates to it is weak, and it changes daily as positions move.
Compare these with the price-derived levels on Stock Setup: when an options strike and an independently-derived technical level agree, at least two different sets of participants are watching the same number.
Full chain — NIFTY 2026-09-22
End-of-day open interest, change in open interest, volume and closing premium.
| Call OI | Call ΔOI | Call vol | Call LTP | Strike | Put LTP | Put vol | Put ΔOI | Put OI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,170 | 0 | 0 | 1,203.20 | 22,100 | 1.60 | 286,481 | 466,765 | 2,368,275 |
| 260 | 0 | 0 | 1,148.05 | 22,150 | 1.70 | 133,338 | 499,590 | 1,149,135 |
| 2,665 | 0 | 0 | 1,050.40 | 22,200 | 1.75 | 508,472 | 1,208,675 | 5,006,950 |
| 520 | 0 | 0 | 936.15 | 22,250 | 2.05 | 144,895 | 248,300 | 1,024,660 |
| 8,385 | -390 | 22 | 1,067.20 | 22,300 | 2.15 | 583,725 | 694,070 | 5,147,740 |
| 715 | 325 | 16 | 984.60 | 22,350 | 2.35 | 233,971 | -74,165 | 1,645,280 |
| 2,470 | -325 | 94 | 950.30 | 22,400 | 2.45 | 618,812 | 1,065,740 | 4,242,420 |
| 455 | 0 | 0 | 854.55 | 22,450 | 2.60 | 361,481 | 1,073,150 | 1,949,740 |
| 84,045 | -6,435 | 690 | 858.10 | 22,500 | 3.05 | 790,067 | 646,360 | 9,022,520 |
| 2,730 | 65 | 8 | 778.65 | 22,550 | 3.25 | 365,058 | 731,900 | 1,807,845 |
| 40,755 | -3,185 | 254 | 758.45 | 22,600 | 3.55 | 595,767 | 584,155 | 5,245,435 |
| 16,965 | 260 | 115 | 706.55 | 22,650 | 4.00 | 422,713 | -470,795 | 1,745,315 |
| 52,520 | -6,890 | 1,006 | 658.00 | 22,700 | 4.55 | 650,511 | 295,490 | 6,306,950 |
| 34,385 | 1,820 | 412 | 609.25 | 22,750 | 5.10 | 514,725 | 2,020,590 | 4,104,555 |
| 119,275 | 15,795 | 5,399 | 559.00 | 22,800 | 5.80 | 874,973 | 1,826,240 | 7,208,240 |
| 52,910 | -4,680 | 1,297 | 512.55 | 22,850 | 6.50 | 561,911 | 1,368,575 | 3,170,115 |
| 136,565 | 11,375 | 8,884 | 462.45 | 22,900 | 8.00 | 867,079 | 1,380,665 | 4,972,825 |
| 87,490 | 17,030 | 6,863 | 411.70 | 22,950 | 9.60 | 756,828 | 1,281,670 | 3,692,390 |
| 621,790 | -284,310 | 115,292 | 367.35 | 23,000 | 12.35 | 1,959,567 | 1,341,470 | 10,994,165 |
| 154,050 | -23,660 | 34,733 | 319.25 | 23,050 | 15.85 | 1,018,552 | -267,410 | 2,870,595 |
| 594,425 | -228,345 | 202,700 | 275.70 | 23,100 | 20.90 | 1,902,664 | 1,068,340 | 6,429,865 |
| 349,635 | -158,275 | 222,149 | 232.75 | 23,150 | 27.75 | 1,458,740 | 882,570 | 3,903,380 |
| 2,665,520 | -661,440 | 1,256,961 | 192.40 | 23,200 | 37.10 | 3,400,412 | 902,850 | 9,601,865 |
| 1,811,745 | -1,272,635 | 1,463,587 | 154.55 | 23,250 | 49.40 | 2,842,155 | 1,823,510 | 6,490,705 |
| 7,419,685 | 815,165 | 5,628,311 | 120.70 | 23,300 | 65.45 | 7,089,453 | 5,893,550 | 12,686,570 |
| 4,955,600 | 1,473,875 | 5,297,934 | 91.50 | 23,350 | 85.60 | 4,033,979 | 3,557,385 | 5,143,060 |
| 8,768,240 | 2,245,100 | 4,884,019 | 66.70 | 23,400 | 110.90 | 2,635,034 | 1,807,455 | 4,787,315 |
| 3,859,895 | 382,655 | 2,677,086 | 46.65 | 23,450 | 141.00 | 667,935 | 83,200 | 696,605 |
| 9,226,165 | 242,190 | 3,526,795 | 31.25 | 23,500 | 175.60 | 731,984 | 153,790 | 2,405,260 |
| 3,655,340 | 402,220 | 1,719,125 | 20.15 | 23,550 | 215.00 | 128,655 | -19,825 | 262,535 |
| 7,909,005 | 1,241,500 | 2,098,014 | 12.75 | 23,600 | 257.60 | 142,970 | -10,335 | 739,765 |
| 4,041,700 | 964,600 | 1,194,151 | 8.20 | 23,650 | 304.10 | 23,647 | -30,810 | 196,560 |
| 9,495,720 | 1,934,465 | 1,311,724 | 5.45 | 23,700 | 351.55 | 28,345 | -171,405 | 536,770 |
| 4,303,715 | 501,865 | 700,982 | 3.80 | 23,750 | 399.55 | 4,590 | -6,890 | 101,660 |
| 8,214,375 | -153,465 | 931,282 | 2.90 | 23,800 | 447.75 | 8,139 | -25,610 | 458,770 |
| 2,976,675 | 158,860 | 454,852 | 2.45 | 23,850 | 496.85 | 1,060 | 3,315 | 72,670 |
| 5,844,280 | -960,440 | 733,000 | 2.25 | 23,900 | 546.60 | 1,422 | -14,365 | 436,865 |
| 2,368,145 | 253,240 | 397,367 | 2.00 | 23,950 | 593.05 | 315 | -2,990 | 75,010 |
| 11,558,560 | 1,248,715 | 913,736 | 1.85 | 24,000 | 647.60 | 9,515 | -122,395 | 921,505 |
| 1,801,475 | -12,220 | 302,605 | 1.55 | 24,050 | 695.80 | 126 | -390 | 24,050 |
| 5,163,795 | 1,682,070 | 587,624 | 1.35 | 24,100 | 745.15 | 413 | -4,160 | 138,060 |
| 2,433,210 | 626,925 | 179,395 | 1.20 | 24,150 | 801.00 | 52 | -1,105 | 24,115 |
| 6,358,625 | 949,715 | 411,370 | 1.15 | 24,200 | 846.95 | 550 | -11,375 | 166,790 |
| 1,300,650 | -223,795 | 130,294 | 1.05 | 24,250 | 890.20 | 74 | -585 | 24,635 |
| 4,095,000 | 286,715 | 270,750 | 0.95 | 24,300 | 940.65 | 243 | -2,990 | 94,250 |
| 1,200,095 | 162,240 | 71,277 | 0.90 | 24,350 | 991.50 | 926 | 1,300 | 14,625 |
| 2,863,510 | 209,235 | 178,368 | 0.85 | 24,400 | 1,051.75 | 175 | -3,705 | 113,230 |
| 632,255 | 71,305 | 42,608 | 0.80 | 24,450 | 1,068.95 | 9 | -65 | 12,350 |
| 10,050,300 | -399,685 | 500,022 | 0.85 | 24,500 | 1,145.45 | 336 | -14,820 | 274,950 |
| 910,065 | 53,365 | 39,298 | 0.80 | 24,550 | 1,195.95 | 142 | -1,495 | 23,855 |
All index chains
Every expiry we carry, summarised.
| Index | Expiry | Spot | Call OI | Put OI | PCR | Max pain | Call wall | Put wall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIFTY | 2026-09-22 | 23,346.40 | 138,247,525 | 140,532,795 | 1.017 | 23,350 | 24,000 | 23,300 |
| NIFTY | 2026-09-29 | 23,346.40 | 68,046,095 | 67,614,325 | 0.994 | 23,600 | 24,000 | 23,000 |
| BANKNIFTY | 2026-09-29 | 56,358.70 | 10,561,980 | 11,471,700 | 1.086 | 57,000 | 58,000 | 54,000 |
| BANKNIFTY | 2026-10-27 | 56,358.70 | 2,299,290 | 1,442,070 | 0.627 | 57,400 | 58,000 | 55,000 |
| FINNIFTY | 2026-09-29 | 25,510.00 | 578,880 | 409,140 | 0.707 | 25,600 | 26,500 | 25,300 |
| MIDCPNIFTY | 2026-09-29 | 14,500.75 | 6,171,240 | 6,110,760 | 0.99 | 14,500 | 15,000 | 14,000 |
| MIDCPNIFTY | 2026-10-27 | 14,500.75 | 153,000 | 129,360 | 0.845 | 14,500 | 15,000 | 14,500 |
Questions
What is the put-call ratio?
Total put open interest divided by total call open interest. Above 1 means more puts are open than calls. It is often read as a contrarian sentiment gauge, but the level that counts as high differs by index and by expiry cycle, so the ratio is most useful compared with its own recent range.
What is max pain?
The strike at which the combined intrinsic value of all open option contracts would be lowest if the index settled there — in theory the least painful outcome for option writers as a group. It is widely quoted and weakly supported; it is shown here because readers look for it, not because we think it predicts settlement.
Is this live option chain data?
No, and deliberately so. These figures come from NSE's settled end-of-day F&O bhavcopy. The live chain can serve a partially-updated snapshot, and open interest is a day-over-day measure anyway, so the settled file is both more reliable and the right resolution.
Which strikes are shown?
Twenty-five strikes either side of spot, for the two nearest expiries of Nifty, Bank Nifty, Fin Nifty and Midcap Nifty. Far out-of-the-money strikes carry little open interest and would flatten the scale of the ladder.
How to read this page. Everything here is a description of data the exchange has already published — it is not a forecast, a recommendation, or a signal to buy or sell. Labels such as "accumulation", "short buildup" or "support" name a pattern in the numbers, nothing more. Options can expire worthless and carry risk of total loss of premium; selling them carries unlimited risk.
Flash Finance is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser. Exchange data is sourced from NSE's public end-of-day files and may be revised by the exchange. Verify anything you intend to act on against the exchange's own records.
Data as of the 2026-09-18 session · built 2026-09-20 22:25 IST · source: NSE F&O end-of-day bhavcopy. Figures are as published by the exchange and are for information only, not investment advice.
