How to use the options chain on Kite
The options chain on Kite provides a unified view of all call and put contracts for a given underlying and expiry, along with real-time pricing, open interest, implied volatility, and the option Greeks. Understanding how to read it is a prerequisite for informed options trading on Zerodha.
For background on how F&O trading works see How to trade options on Kite (first time) and F&O segment on Zerodha.
What the options chain shows
An options chain is a table listing every tradable strike for a given underlying and expiry, with live market data for both the call and put side. Each row is a single strike price; the corresponding CE and PE contracts for that strike appear on opposite sides of the table.
Kite’s options chain displays the following columns for each contract:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OI | Open interest: total outstanding contracts (in lots) |
| OI change | Net change in OI from the previous session’s close |
| Volume | Number of contracts traded in the current session |
| IV | Implied volatility derived from the LTP using Black-Scholes |
| Bid | Highest buyer price in the order book |
| Ask | Lowest seller price in the order book |
| LTP | Last traded price of the contract |
The underlying price is shown prominently at the top of the chain so you can instantly see where the spot is relative to the displayed strikes.
Step-by-step procedure
Open the options chain
Log in to Kite. In the Market Watch, type the underlying symbol, for example NIFTY, BANKNIFTY, RELIANCE, or HDFCBANK. Hover over the instrument name; a row of icons appears. Click the grid icon (the options chain icon) to open the chain in a panel on the right side of the screen.
Alternatively, click the instrument name to open its detail page, then click the Options Chain tab.
On the Kite mobile app, open the instrument detail page and tap the Options Chain tab at the top.
Select the expiry
At the top of the chain there is an expiry dropdown. The default is typically the nearest expiry. Click the dropdown to see all available expiries: weekly (if applicable under post-October 2024 rules) and monthly. Select the expiry you want to analyse.
After SEBI’s circular SEBI/HO/MRD/MRD-PoD-3/P/CIR/2024/120 in October 2024, the number of weekly expiry contracts was rationalised. As of that circular, each exchange (NSE and BSE) may offer weekly expiries on only one benchmark index per exchange, plus the usual monthly contracts for all other instruments. Confirm the current schedule on the NSE website before trading.
Identify the ATM strike
The strike closest to the current spot price is the at-the-money (ATM) strike. Kite highlights this row (typically in a different background shade) so it is easy to locate. Strikes above ATM are out-of-the-money (OTM) for calls and in-the-money (ITM) for puts. Strikes below ATM are ITM for calls and OTM for puts.
The ATM call and put have the highest time value (extrinsic value), which makes them the most sensitive to implied volatility changes and the most liquid in most underlyings.
Read the call and put columns
Calls appear on the left side of the strike column; puts on the right. For each contract:
- OI tells you how many contracts are currently open. High OI at a strike means many participants have live positions there.
- OI change tells you whether new positions were added (positive) or closed (negative) during the current session. Rising OI at a falling price generally indicates new short-selling.
- Volume indicates trading activity in the current session; high volume relative to OI suggests intraday activity rather than position building.
- IV is the implied volatility for that specific strike. Deep OTM options typically have higher IV than ATM options, producing the well-known “volatility smile” or “skew” in most Indian index options.
- Bid / Ask is the top of the order book. The spread between bid and ask indicates liquidity; tight spreads imply easy entry and exit.
- LTP is the last traded price; for illiquid deep OTM strikes with no recent trades, LTP may lag significantly behind fair value.
Analyse open interest concentration
The strikes with the highest call OI are commonly described as resistance by market commentators because a large number of call writers have incentive to defend those levels. Similarly, the strike with the highest put OI is described as support. This is a heuristic used in retail trading analysis, not a mechanically reliable signal.
More rigorous uses of OI include:
- Confirming trend: rising price with rising OI suggests genuine demand; rising price with falling OI suggests short-covering.
- Spotting unwinding: falling OI at a strike after expiry week begins indicates position closure.
- PCR (Put-Call Ratio): total put OI divided by total call OI across all strikes. A PCR above 1 is often cited as mildly bullish (more puts written). Kite does not show PCR directly; use NSE’s option chain page for the aggregate figure.
Place an order from the options chain
To trade a contract visible in the chain, click the Bid price to pre-fill a sell order (limit at bid) or the Ask price to pre-fill a buy order (limit at ask) for that contract. The order form opens with the instrument, product type, and price pre-populated.
You can also type the contract name from the chain (for example NIFTY26MAY24000CE) directly into the Market Watch search box to add it for ongoing tracking.
For multi-leg strategies, use the basket order feature on Kite rather than placing each leg individually from the chain.
Switch to the Greeks view
Click the Greeks tab in the options chain panel to replace the OI / Volume columns with Delta, Gamma, Theta, and Vega for each strike. This view is useful when:
- Comparing how much Delta (directional sensitivity) you acquire at different strikes.
- Estimating daily time decay (Theta) for a potential short position.
- Gauging Vega exposure when implied volatility is likely to change around an event.
For a more detailed Greeks analysis alongside a payoff diagram, use Sensibull’s strategy builder or Sensibull’s payoff charts. Kite’s options chain links to Sensibull directly via the Strategy Builder button visible inside the chain panel.
Understanding implied volatility skew
IV typically varies across strikes. In Indian equity index options:
- Put skew: OTM puts command higher IV than OTM calls because of institutional demand for downside protection.
- Event spike: IV rises sharply before earnings announcements, Union Budget, RBI policy dates, and election results, then collapses after the event (known as IV crush).
- ATM vs OTM spread: the difference between OTM and ATM IV is the skew; steep skew means the market is pricing a higher probability of a large downward move.
Monitoring the IV column in the options chain gives you a real-time view of the skew without needing a separate volatility surface tool.
What can go wrong
- LTP is stale for illiquid strikes. For deep OTM or far-expiry contracts with low volume, the LTP shown may be hours old. Always check the bid and ask before concluding a price.
- OI updates on a 30-minute delay in some data feeds. Kite’s web interface shows OI in near-real time during the session; however, some third-party data sources lag by 30 minutes. Use the NSE website’s official options chain for the most accurate EOD OI figures.
- Weekly expiry schedule changed post-October 2024. If you are searching for a Bank Nifty weekly that no longer exists on the exchange, the chain will not show it. Cross-check the current NSE F&O product list.
- Confusing lots and contracts. OI is shown in lots in Kite. Each lot for Nifty is 75 units (post-October 2024 contract-size revision). For stock options the lot size varies; verify the current lot size in the contract specification before entering quantity.
- Placing an order at a stale LTP. Always use limit orders priced at or near the bid/ask rather than market orders on options, which have wide effective spreads due to thin order books at many strikes.
Related guides
- How to trade options on Kite (first time)
- How to read option Greeks on Kite
- How to build an options strategy on Sensibull
- How to use options payoff charts on Sensibull
- How to use basket order for multi-leg options on Kite
- How to calculate margin using the Zerodha SPAN calculator
- F&O segment on Zerodha
- Kite, Zerodha’s trading platform
References
- SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/MRD/MRD-PoD-3/P/CIR/2024/120 dated October 2024, Rationalisation of weekly index derivatives contracts.
- NSE F&O product specifications (lot sizes, contract multipliers), nseindia.com/products/content/derivatives/equities/fo_underlying_sec.htm.
- Zerodha support article: “How to use the options chain on Kite”, support.zerodha.com.
- Zerodha Varsity module on Options Theory, zerodha.com/varsity.
- Black, F. and Scholes, M. (1973). “The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities.” Journal of Political Economy, 81(3), 637–654.