A derivatives command centre — where open interest is building, how sentiment is shifting, which symbols are breaking out, and where option sellers are getting trapped.
Every panel answers one question about positioning. Read them in order and you know who is committed, who is trapped, and which side has the advantage.
The tool opens inside your BreakPoint account. If you are not signed in yet you will be asked to sign in first, and access depends on your active plan.
FNO Analytics brings the main derivative positioning views onto one screen for the symbols that trade in the futures and options segment. Rather than one number, it presents a sequence of panels, each answering a specific question about who is positioned where.
The confluence tracker looks for symbols where several signals agree, which is usually more informative than any single reading. The open-interest panels show where positions are being built or unwound. The PCR views show how sentiment is skewed and, importantly, how it is trending rather than just its level today.
The momentum and breakout panels connect that positioning to price behaviour, and the sellers-trap panels highlight the situations where option writers are on the wrong side — a condition that often precedes sharp, forced moves as those positions are covered.
Positioning data describes what participants are holding, not what will happen next. Its value is in improving the odds of a directional read, not in removing the need for a stop-loss.
In derivatives, knowing what the crowd is holding is often more useful than knowing what the chart looks like.
Option traders
See which strikes are defended, where sentiment is turning, and when writers are under pressure.
Futures traders
Confirm that a directional move has fresh positioning behind it before committing leverage.
Intraday traders
Use confluence and breakout panels to shortlist the few symbols genuinely in play today.
Learning traders
Watch positioning concepts play out repeatedly in a structured layout instead of raw exchange data.
Confluence first
Symbols where several independent signals agree rise to the top, which filters out most noise.
Positioning, not just price
Open-interest change reveals whether a move is new money or an exit.
Trend of sentiment
PCR shown as a trend rather than a snapshot, because the direction of change matters more than the level.
Trap detection
Dedicated views for call and put sellers under pressure — often the precursor to fast moves.
Breakout zone
Symbols crossing key levels, so positioning analysis connects to actual price action.
Symbol drill-down
Select any symbol and see its own PCR, price trend and OI change at the levels that matter.
The dashboard is a stack of panels. Each one is a question; read them top to bottom.
Panels stack into a single column, so the reading order on a phone is the same as the intended reading order on a desktop.
A structured pass through the dashboard takes about five minutes.
Start with confluence
Look at the confluence tracker before anything else. Symbols where several signals agree are worth analysing; the rest usually are not.
Check the OI trend counts
Compare how many symbols have turned bullish against bearish. That balance describes the derivatives market's overall lean today.
Select one symbol
Drill into a single name rather than skimming all of them. The PCR and price panels only mean something when read together for one symbol.
Read the PCR trend
Focus on the direction of change through the session, not the absolute figure. A rising PCR into a falling price tells a different story from a falling PCR into the same move.
Examine OI change at key levels
See which side is adding and which is unwinding at the strikes that matter. This is where the day's support and resistance actually come from.
Look for trapped writers
If sellers on one side are trapped, moves in the opposite direction tend to accelerate as they are forced to cover.
Confirm with breakout status
Positioning plus a price break in the same direction is a far higher-quality setup than either signal alone.
The vocabulary of the dashboard, panel by panel.
| Field | What it tells you | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| LTP | Last traded price of the selected symbol. | The anchor for judging how far strikes and levels sit from the current market. |
| OI PCR | Put-call ratio calculated from open positions. | A positioning-based sentiment gauge. Extremes matter more than everyday readings. |
| Vol PCR | Put-call ratio calculated from today's trading activity. | Reacts faster than OI PCR, so divergence between the two often signals a shift in progress. |
| Turned Bullish / Bearish | Symbols whose positioning has changed direction. | A change list is more actionable than a state list — you want to catch the turn, not the aftermath. |
| Call CHG OI / Put CHG OI | How positions at key call and put strikes changed. | Falling calls with rising puts is constructive; the reverse is a warning. |
| Confluence | Symbols where several independent signals point the same way. | Your shortlist. Agreement between unrelated measures is the closest thing to confirmation. |
| Momentum territory | Whether a symbol currently sits in a bullish or bearish momentum state. | Filters out symbols that are technically positioned well but going nowhere. |
| Breakout / breakdown | Symbols crossing important levels. | The price confirmation for a positioning-based idea. |
| Sellers trapped | Option writers appearing to be on the losing side of a move. | Anticipate accelerated moves as those positions are covered under pressure. |
Four positioning patterns that recur constantly.
A liquid F&O symbol shows: confluence flagging it, positioning turned bullish this morning, put writing increasing at the level just below the current price, call positions unwinding above, and the breakout panel showing it has just cleared its key level.
Four independent things are saying the same thing: sellers are willing to defend the level below, sellers above are giving up, sentiment is trending in the same direction, and price has confirmed by breaking out. That is a far stronger case than a breakout on its own, and the level where puts are being written gives an obvious place for the stop-loss.
If the level below fails, the put writers defending it are the ones who will be forced to sell — which is exactly why a break of that level deserves an immediate exit rather than patience.
The dashboard is dense on purpose. Reading it in order is what makes it usable.
✅ Do this
⛔ Avoid this
Reading a single panel in isolation. Any one of these views can be misleading on its own; their value comes from agreement. A bullish OI pattern with price breaking down is not a bullish setup, it is a contradiction that means stand aside.
Open interest is the number of derivative contracts still open. Rising open interest means new positions are being created, which shows fresh conviction. Falling open interest means positions are being closed, which means the current move may be running out of participants.
The put-call ratio compares activity in puts against calls. It is a sentiment gauge: very high readings mean the crowd is heavily positioned for a fall, which at extremes often precedes a bounce because there is little selling left to do.
OI PCR is based on positions still open and therefore moves slowly. Volume PCR is based on today's activity and moves quickly. When the fast measure diverges from the slow one, sentiment may be in the process of turning.
Traders who sold call options are exposed to unlimited losses if price rises past their strike. When price moves decisively against them they must buy to cover, and that forced buying accelerates the move — which is why the setup is watched closely.
Typically call positions unwinding while put positions build. Writers are stepping back from betting against higher prices and are instead willing to defend lower ones, which shifts the path of least resistance upward.
Confluence is when several independent signals point the same way at once. It matters because each individual signal has a meaningful failure rate, and agreement between unrelated measures reduces the chance that you are looking at noise.
No. It describes what participants are currently holding, which tilts the odds and explains where levels come from. It does not tell you what will happen next, which is why every position still needs a stop-loss.
Positioning can be right and early, or simply wrong. Waiting for price to move in the same direction ensures you are acting on something that has begun rather than something that might.
An option chain shows raw data for one symbol. This dashboard organises the same underlying concepts across many symbols and adds trend, momentum and breakout context so patterns are visible without manual comparison.
Yes. Positioning in derivatives influences the underlying stock's behaviour, particularly around key levels. Knowing where those levels are is useful even if you only ever buy shares.
They become more volatile and more influential. Positions concentrate in the expiring contract, so levels exert stronger pull while also breaking more abruptly. Smaller size is the usual response.
A small number followed closely beats a large number skimmed. Most consistent traders build familiarity with two or three symbols and learn how those specific names behave around their levels.
Every technical term above, written for someone who has never traded before.
The number of derivative contracts currently open.
Volume counts trades; open interest counts positions still live. Rising open interest with rising price means new money is backing the move. Rising open interest with falling price means new short positions are being created. Falling open interest means positions are being closed and the current move may be running out of participants.
A sentiment gauge from the options market.
PCR compares activity in puts against calls. High readings mean traders are heavily positioned for a fall, which at extremes often precedes a bounce, because there is nobody left to sell. It is a crowd-positioning indicator, best read at extremes rather than day to day.
The price an option contract is written around.
Every option is tied to a strike. Where traders concentrate their positions creates practical floors and ceilings for the index, because the sellers of those contracts defend those levels. That is why the strikes with the largest build-up are watched as intraday support and resistance.
Contracts whose value is derived from an underlying asset.
Futures commit you to a price on a future date; options give the right, not the obligation, to transact at a price. Both are leveraged, meaning small deposits control large exposure — which magnifies mistakes as efficiently as it magnifies good decisions.
How an option's price responds to the world around it.
Delta is how much the option moves when the underlying moves one point. Gamma is how quickly delta itself changes, which is why option moves accelerate near key levels. Theta is the daily cost of time — an option loses value simply because expiry gets closer, which is why holding options through a quiet session is expensive.
Levels implied by where option positions are stacked.
When a large number of contracts are open at one strike, the participants who sold them have a strong incentive to keep the index from settling beyond that point. The result is that heavily loaded strikes often behave like magnets and barriers during the session.
Price pushing past a level that had been holding it back.
A breakout is the moment supply at a level runs out and price moves into open space above it. The quality of a breakout depends on what comes with it — volume, a strong close near the high, and a market that is not falling apart around it. Breakouts on thin volume are the most common trap for new traders.
The tendency of strong stocks to keep being strong.
Momentum is the observation that recent winners tend to keep outperforming for a while. It is the engine behind most scanners: instead of hunting for hidden value, you sort the market by what is already working and look for the cleanest way to join it.
How easily you can get in and out at a fair price.
A liquid stock has enough daily turnover that your order does not move the price. Illiquid names look attractive on a scanner because their percentage moves are large, but the spread between buy and sell prices quietly eats those gains, and exiting in a fall can be difficult.
Looking for a term that is not here? The full trading glossary covers every concept used across these guides.