Section 1 · Layout
Calls on the left, puts on the right
Before any number, read the shape: one strike per row, the call at that strike on one side and the put on the other.
Sample Indexspot 4,865.00previous close 4,851.00expiry in 14 dayslot 45 unitsall figures invented
| Calls | Puts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTP | Strike | LTP | ||
| call in the money | 173.05 | 4,700 | 8.05 | |
| call in the money | 130.10 | 4,750 | 15.10 | |
| call in the money | 91.70 | 4,800 | 26.70 | |
| call in the money | 59.55 | 4,850 | 44.55 | |
| 34.80 | 4,900 | 69.80 | put in the money | |
| 17.85 | 4,950 | 102.85 | put in the money | |
| 7.75 | 5,000 | 142.75 | put in the money | |
| 2.75 | 5,050 | 187.75 | put in the money | |
Excerpt: last traded prices either side of the strikes.
On a narrow screen this table scrolls sideways; the strike column is in the middle.
The strike column
The strike is the price an option is written at. Each row of the chain is one strike, with the call at that strike on the left and the put at the same strike on the right. The specimen lists 8 strikes, 4,700 to 5,050, 50 apart.
Calls and puts
A call gives its buyer the right, not the obligation, to buy the underlying at the strike on the contract's terms. A put gives the right to sell at the strike. The seller of either takes on the matching obligation and receives the premium.
A chain sets the two side by side so that both can be read at one strike. In the specimen the call side is teal and the put side plum, and the table header names each side, so the colour is never the only cue.
In, at and out of the money
With the specimen's spot at 4,865.00, a call is in the money when its strike is below spot (4,700–4,850) and a put when its strike is above spot (4,900–5,050). Those half-rows are shaded. The strike nearest spot, 4,850, is called at the money and has a heavier rule.