Section 2 · Prices
The price columns
Four columns describe price: what last traded, how it moved, and what buyers and sellers are quoting now.
Sample Indexspot 4,865.00previous close 4,851.00expiry in 14 dayslot 45 unitsall figures invented
| Calls | Puts | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTP | Chng | Bid | Ask | Strike | Ask | Bid | Chng | LTP | ||
| call in the money | 173.05 | +11.15 | 172.70 | 173.40 | 4,700 | 8.40 | 7.70 | −2.85 | 8.05 | |
| call in the money | 130.10 | +9.60 | 129.80 | 130.40 | 4,750 | 15.40 | 14.80 | −4.40 | 15.10 | |
| call in the money | 91.70 | +7.70 | 91.50 | 91.90 | 4,800 | 26.90 | 26.50 | −6.30 | 26.70 | |
| call in the money | 59.55 | +5.60 | 59.40 | 59.65 | 4,850 | 44.65 | 44.40 | −8.40 | 44.55 | |
| 34.80 | +3.60 | 34.65 | 34.95 | 4,900 | 69.95 | 69.65 | −10.40 | 69.80 | put in the money | |
| 17.85 | +2.00 | 17.60 | 18.10 | 4,950 | 103.05 | 102.60 | −12.00 | 102.85 | put in the money | |
| 7.75 | +0.85 | 7.45 | 8.05 | 5,000 | 143.05 | 142.45 | −13.15 | 142.75 | put in the money | |
| 2.75 | +0.30 | 2.40 | 3.10 | 5,050 | 188.10 | 187.40 | −13.70 | 187.75 | put in the money | |
Excerpt: the four price columns on each side.
On a narrow screen this table scrolls sideways; the strike column is in the middle.
LTP: last traded price
The premium of the most recent trade, per unit of the underlying. One lot of the specimen is 45 units, so the 4,850 call at 59.55 costs 59.55 × 45 = 2,679.75 a lot, before charges.
LTP is history: it says what the last buyer and seller agreed, which may have been some time ago on a quiet strike.
Chng: change since the previous close
LTP minus the previous session's closing price. The 4,850 call's previous close in the specimen was 53.95; 59.55 − 53.95 = +5.60. With the invented index up from 4,851.00 to 4,865.00, every call in the specimen rose and every put fell.
Bid, ask and the spread
The bid is the best price a buyer is currently offering; the ask is the best price a seller is asking. A trade happens when one side accepts the other's price. The gap is the spread.
In the specimen the spread widens away from spot: 0.25 at 4,850, 0.70 at 5,050. Buying at the ask and selling at the bid straight away would cost the spread. A chain can also show the quantity waiting at the bid and ask; the specimen leaves those columns out.