Zerodha futures continuous chart

Continuous-chart data for futures (Kite)

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Continuous-chart data for futures on Zerodha Kite combines a sequence of monthly expiry contracts into one continuous historical series. Without this, each expiry’s chart would only span ~1 month; with continuous-chart, you can see multi-year trends.

This article explains the back-adjustment mechanism and its implications.

Why continuous charts exist

A given futures contract (e.g., Nifty Aug 2026) trades for ~1-2 months, then expires. The next month’s contract (Nifty Sep 2026) starts trading; on expiry of Aug, traders roll to Sep. Each contract’s chart is short.

For technical analysis spanning weeks to months, traders need a continuous price history. Continuous charts splice multiple contracts together using a consistent rollover convention.

Rollover convention

The convention defines:

  1. When to roll: typically on expiry-day or N days before expiry.
  2. How to splice: adjust prices to make the splice point gap-free.

Common methods:

  • Panama back-adjustment: adjust all historical data by the price difference at rollover. Historical prices are shifted down (or up) so the rollover point doesn’t show a jump.
  • No back-adjustment: historical prices left as-is; chart shows jumps at each rollover.
  • Percentage back-adjustment: adjust by percentage rather than absolute difference.

Kite primarily uses Panama back-adjustment for continuous charts.

What this means for historical values

When a new rollover occurs:

  • The “new” front-month contract becomes the chart’s current price.
  • All historical data is back-adjusted by the price difference between the old front-month (at rollover) and the new front-month (at rollover).

Over time, historical values can drift from the actual contract prices that traded.

Implications for technical analysis

Levels remain meaningful in proportion

Trend lines, support / resistance levels drawn on continuous charts remain valid in proportion, just like with stock splits.

Absolute levels lose meaning

A “support at 22,000” drawn on continuous Nifty chart may not correspond to 22,000 on the current front-month contract.

Volatility computations may be slightly off

Long-term ATR / Bollinger Band computations include the price-adjustment effects.

Alternatives

For exact contract-specific analysis, switch to the specific expiry-month contract chart (not continuous). Useful for current-contract trading.

For long-term trend, the continuous chart is best.

See also

External references

References

  1. Zerodha support documentation on Kite continuous charts.
  2. NSE F&O contract specifications.
  3. Panama back-adjustment methodology references.

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