Controls and the top strip
Choose an underlying and an expiry, then a positioning lens. The lens sets the window over which open-interest change is measured: Now uses each option's own reported OI change, while 15m, 1h and 1D recompute the change against a snapshot taken about 15 minutes, one hour or at the start of the session earlier. Switching the lens changes every OI change figure and the readings built on it.
A strip of headline numbers sits below the controls: the spot with the day's high and low, the put-call ratio with a heavy label, the average implied volatility across the chain, the OI balance and which side it favours, and the max-pain strike with its distance from spot.
The panels
| Panel | What it shows | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly futures | Future price, basis to spot in points and percent, open interest, OI change, traded volume, contracts traded and a buildup label. | A discount or premium to spot with a buildup label such as long buildup frames futures positioning. Basis is a spread, not a forecast. |
| Price structure | Five-minute candles with the key levels. | Where price sits relative to the levels in the other panels. |
| OI pressure map | Call open interest (resistance) on one side and put open interest (support) on the other for strikes around ATM. | Long bars show concentration. The balance between the two sides at each strike shows where the chain leans. |
| Gamma strip | Call wall, put wall, peak gamma, gamma flip and aggregate net GEX, each as a strike or value. | Walls are labelled as seller resistance and support, peak gamma as a magnet, the flip as a regime change, and net GEX as stabilising or amplifying flow. |
| Cross-market confluence | The weighted score, its three inputs and a trigger map. | See the next section. |
| Intraday derivatives pulse | Small trend lines for OI PCR, net OI balance and ATM premium, each with its change from the open. | Shows whether positioning and premium are expanding or fading through the session. |
| ATM option chain | Calls on one side and puts on the other around ATM with IV, OI change, OI and last price. | The detail behind the aggregates. |
| Dominant OI strikes | The five largest call walls and five largest put floors by open interest. | Where positions are most concentrated. |
| Structure read | A plain statement such as put support dominant, call resistance dominant or positioning balanced, with the support and resistance strikes. | A summary of the OI balance, compared against price. |
How the confluence score is built
The combined market read is a weighted average of up to three signals, each on a scale from minus 100 to plus 100. A lens with no data is left out and the remaining weights are renormalised.
| Input | Weight | How its score is set |
|---|---|---|
| Technicals | 45% | The net score of the technical matrix across the available timeframes. |
| Options | 35% | The OI bias, shown beside the PCR, multiplied by 2.5 and limited to the range minus 100 to plus 100. |
| Futures | 20% | The buildup label: long buildup +75, short covering +50, short buildup -75, long unwinding -50, otherwise 0. |
As an illustration, technicals at +65, options at +15 (a PCR of 1.13 and an OI bias of +6.0%) and futures at +75 (long buildup) blend to 0.45 x 65 + 0.35 x 15 + 0.20 x 75, about +50. A score of 45 or more is labelled strong bullish confluence, 15 or more bullish, minus 15 or less bearish, minus 45 or less strong bearish, and anything in between contested. A summary line counts how many inputs agree and notes when a lens disagrees.
The score is a convenience, not a forecast. The weights are fixed design choices, so a contested reading is as informative as a strong one: it tells you the lenses disagree.
The trigger map
Below the score, a trigger map divides price into three zones using the open-interest levels and the ATM straddle. It is labelled confirmation context, not a standalone signal.
| Zone | Label | Reference shown |
|---|---|---|
| Above the call-resistance strike | Bullish expansion | Upper straddle breakeven: the ATM strike plus the ATM straddle. |
| Between the support and resistance strikes | Range / premium decay | The max-pain strike as a magnet. |
| Below the put-support strike | Bearish expansion | Lower straddle breakeven: the ATM strike minus the ATM straddle. |
Support and resistance here are the strikes with the largest put and call open interest. They mark where positions are concentrated, not where price must stop.
A reading routine
- Choose the underlying, the expiry and a lens. Use Now first, then compare 1h or 1D to see what is changing.
- Read the headline score, then its three inputs. Note whether any lens disagrees.
- Compare the futures buildup and basis with the PCR and OI balance in the top strip.
- Look at the OI pressure map and the gamma strip for where the walls, the magnet and the flip sit relative to spot.
- Use the trigger map and the straddle breakevens to define where you would be wrong, and open the option chain or technical dashboard for the lens that looks out of line.
Limits
Each lens is a simplification. Open-interest walls say nothing about who holds the contracts, gamma levels are modeled from visible open interest, straddle breakevens are built from last traded prices that can be stale, and technical readings depend on the timeframes available. A confluence score blends different kinds of evidence with fixed weights, so treat it as a summary to challenge. For the modeled gamma levels see the gamma exposure guide.