Expiry brief · Monday, 19 October 2026
What the NIFTY option chain is pricing today, in numbers a trader can act on: the straddle as the expected move, volatility, skew, and four structures priced live. Written by the server at fixed times, every trading day.
Scheduled today
| IST | RELEASE | ACTUAL / FCST | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 | 🇨🇦 | high | CPI m/m | 0.2% |
| 18:00 | 🇨🇦 | high | Median CPI y/y | 2.0% |
| 18:00 | 🇨🇦 | high | Trimmed CPI y/y | 1.9% |
Full week on the economic calendar →
At the open · 09:20 IST
Taken 09:20 IST · LIVE
NIFTY is at 23,148.45, +0.01% on the day. The 23150 straddle for the 19 Oct expiry costs ₹137.50 (64.50 call + 73.00 put), which is the market pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about ±138 points, ±0.59%, over the 0.3 days to expiry. Read that as the expected range: 23,011 to 23,286. Roughly two expiries in three should finish inside it; the third is where the money is made and lost.
India VIX at 14.35 is in its ordinary range: premium is fairly priced, and the edge comes from structure and sizing rather than from volatility being mispriced. Skew is steep (+3.0 IV points, puts over calls two strikes out): the crowd is paying for downside, so put spreads are richer to sell than call spreads.
Priced off this chain, an iron condor collects ₹2,334 a lot with a maximum loss of ₹4,166 and breakevens at 23,014 / 23,286. The short strangle underneath it collects ₹4,066 — ₹1,732 more — for a loss that has no ceiling. That difference is the price of sleeping through a gap; decide whether it is worth paying before the market decides for you.
On the other side, the long straddle costs ₹8,938 a lot and needs NIFTY beyond 23,012 or 23,288 at expiry to pay. It bleeds about ₹17,412 a day in time value right now. Buy it only if you expect the market to move more than it is charging for — and know why.
Open interest across the loaded strikes: the largest call open interest above spot sits at 23,200 — the strike writers are defending as resistance; the largest put open interest below sits at 23,000, the floor.
Elsewhere: BANKNIFTY 55,660 with a straddle of ₹998 (±1.79%, expiry 27 Oct); SENSEX 74,715 with a straddle of ₹830 (±1.11%, expiry 22 Oct).
Strategies priced off this chain · NIFTY · lot 65
| Structure · legs (per share) | Net / lot | Max profit | Max loss | Breakevens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron condor −1 23050 PE @ 34.35 · +1 22950 PE @ 15.10 · −1 23250 CE @ 28.20 · +1 23350 CE @ 11.55 | credit ₹2,334 | ₹2,334 | ₹4,166 | 23,014 / 23,286 |
| Short strangle −1 23250 CE @ 28.20 · −1 23050 PE @ 34.35 | credit ₹4,066 | ₹4,066 | unlimited | 22,988 / 23,312 |
| Long straddle +1 23150 CE @ 64.50 · +1 23150 PE @ 73.00 | debit ₹8,938 | unlimited | ₹8,938 | 23,012 / 23,288 |
| Bull call spread +1 23150 CE @ 64.50 · −1 23250 CE @ 28.20 | debit ₹2,360 | ₹4,140 | ₹2,360 | 23,186 |
Re-price any of these live in the builder →
BANKNIFTY and SENSEX
At the close · 15:35 IST
Taken 15:35 IST · LIVE
NIFTY is at 22,888.95, -1.11% on the day. The 22900 straddle for the 27 Oct expiry costs ₹338.85 (171.35 call + 167.50 put), which is the market pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about ±339 points, ±1.48%, over the 8.0 days to expiry. Read that as the expected range: 22,550 to 23,228. Roughly two expiries in three should finish inside it; the third is where the money is made and lost.
India VIX at 14.70 is in its ordinary range: premium is fairly priced, and the edge comes from structure and sizing rather than from volatility being mispriced. Skew is mild (+1.4 IV points): neither side of the chain is paying up, so structures can be built symmetric around spot.
Priced off this chain, an iron condor collects ₹4,683 a lot with a maximum loss of ₹1,817 and breakevens at 22,728 / 23,072. The short strangle underneath it collects ₹16,296 — ₹11,613 more — for a loss that has no ceiling. That difference is the price of sleeping through a gap; decide whether it is worth paying before the market decides for you.
On the other side, the long straddle costs ₹22,025 a lot and needs NIFTY beyond 22,561 or 23,239 at expiry to pay. It bleeds about ₹1,383 a day in time value right now. Buy it only if you expect the market to move more than it is charging for — and know why.
Open interest across the loaded strikes: the largest call open interest above spot sits at 23,000 — the strike writers are defending as resistance; the largest put open interest below sits at 22,500, the floor.
Elsewhere: BANKNIFTY 55,488 with a straddle of ₹939 (±1.69%, expiry 27 Oct); SENSEX 73,853 with a straddle of ₹762 (±1.03%, expiry 22 Oct).
Strategies priced off this chain · NIFTY · lot 65
| Structure · legs (per share) | Net / lot | Max profit | Max loss | Breakevens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron condor −1 22800 PE @ 125.25 · +1 22700 PE @ 90.80 · −1 23000 CE @ 125.45 · +1 23100 CE @ 87.85 | credit ₹4,683 | ₹4,683 | ₹1,817 | 22,728 / 23,072 |
| Short strangle −1 23000 CE @ 125.45 · −1 22800 PE @ 125.25 | credit ₹16,296 | ₹16,296 | unlimited | 22,549 / 23,251 |
| Long straddle +1 22900 CE @ 171.35 · +1 22900 PE @ 167.50 | debit ₹22,025 | unlimited | ₹22,025 | 22,561 / 23,239 |
| Bull call spread +1 22900 CE @ 171.35 · −1 23000 CE @ 125.45 | debit ₹2,984 | ₹3,516 | ₹2,984 | 22,946 |
Re-price any of these live in the builder →
What happened against what was priced
NIFTY closed at 22,888.95, -260 points (-1.12%) from the 23,148.45 it opened this brief at. The open straddle priced ±138; the day broke out of that range. The 23150 straddle itself went from ₹137.50 to ₹338.85 — movement or volatility outrunning time decay.
ATM implied volatility moved from 28.1% to 12.5%; India VIX from 14.35 to 14.70.
A short strangle put on at the open had breakevens of 22,988 and 23,312; spot finished outside them. One day is not a track record — but this is exactly the comparison to keep a journal of.
BANKNIFTY and SENSEX
Why the straddle is the expected move — Finch, chapter 6 →
The expiry brief is generated by Finostat's server from its live option chains at fixed times and written up from templates; it is education and market description, not a recommendation. Prices are indicative and can be stale. Derivatives can lose more than you put in. Finostat is not a SEBI-registered adviser.