Option Chain
Also called: option chain, options chain, strike ladder, NSE option chain.
How it is read
The chain is where most option reading starts. It shows a strike in the context of its neighbours, not alone. Open interest concentrated at a strike is commonly described as a level carrying a large number of outstanding positions. The ratio of put to call open interest across the chain is quoted as a sentiment statistic. The difference between the premiums of adjacent strikes is the raw material of every spread. All of these are descriptions of positioning. They are not descriptions of what happens next.
What it does not tell you
A chain is a snapshot, published on the exchange's own cadence. So an intraday view can differ from settled end-of-day figures. Open interest counts each contract once, with a long matched against a short. So a large number at a strike does not say which side is behind it. Thinly traded strikes carry prices that may not be actionable. Reading a whole chain from its extremes usually means reading its least reliable rows.
See it in an experiment
Market X-Ray: Option Chain — Explore a clearly labelled option chain with ATM, moneyness, premium, liquidity, OI and IV lenses.
Related concepts
Moneyness: What In, At and Out of the Money Actually Mean
Moneyness describes where a strike sits against the current level of the underlying. A call is in the money when the level is above its strike. It is at the money when the two are roughly equal, and out of the money below it. For a put, all of that reverses. The label is not a quality rating. It says how much of the premium is intrinsic value, and how much is a bet on movement, nothing more.
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