State Bank of India Max Pain Analysis
What is Max Pain?
Max Pain theory states the underlying gravitates toward the strike where option writers face minimum collective loss at expiry. For SBIN, that strike is ₹990. Spot at ₹956.8 is 3.4% below max pain — possible upward gravitational pull into expiry.
Max Pain Level
The options market for State Bank of India (SBIN) shows a concentration of open interest at the ₹990 strike. This level represents the point where option writers would incur the smallest aggregate loss, acting as a magnet as expiry approaches.
Spot vs Max Pain Gap
The underlying is trading at ₹956.8, about 3.35 % below the ₹990 level, indicating a sizable upside gap. Unless the spot rallies sharply, the gap suggests limited pressure for the price to move higher in the near term.
Shift Signal
Open‑interest has moved +20 strikes higher since yesterday, pushing the theoretical loss‑minimising point upward. Writers are therefore positioned for a higher underlying, which could dampen any immediate rally toward the current pain point.
Expiry Context
As the November 23 expiry draws nearer, the concentration of puts and calls at the pain strike tends to pull the stock toward that level, but the effect weakens if market fundamentals diverge. Historically, the final week often sees volatility spikes that can temporarily offset the pull, so the pain level remains a tendency rather than a certainty.
Data Note
The spot sits roughly ₹33 below the pain strike with 26 days remaining until expiry.
Data as of 2026-10-28