Unusual options activity — who is positioning where.
The scanner every Tradytics / Unusual Whales user checks for US markets, rebuilt for NIFTY + Bank NIFTY. Volume/OI ratio, OI build-up %, and each strike classified as long-buildup, short-buildup, long-unwinding, or short-covering. Free and refreshed every 3 minutes from NSE's public option chain.
What "unusual" means here
Today's traded volume divided by standing open interest. Above 0.5 is mildly unusual; above 1.0 means the strike turned over more contracts today than its entire standing position — a strong signal of new positioning or unwinding, not routine delta-hedging.
Change-in-OI as a percentage of prior-session OI. Combined with the direction of today's price change, it tells you which side is adding or exiting.
- • Long buildup — OI up + price up. Fresh longs entering. Bullish.
- • Short buildup — OI up + price down. Fresh shorts entering. Bearish.
- • Long unwinding — OI down + price down. Existing longs booking. Bearish context.
- • Short covering — OI down + price up. Shorts squeezed out. Bullish context.
Reading the tape
UOA is a context tool, not a timing signal on its own. The usual combination to trade off is: unusual activity at a specific strike + the strike is near spot + the underlying is breaking a technical level + IV isn't already pricing the move. When all four align, the probability of the strike becoming a magnet for the rest of the session rises sharply.
Long buildup on the CE side above spot + short buildup on the PE side below spot = classic bullish range expansion setup. The inverse — put long buildup below spot + call short buildup above spot — frames a bearish day.
Related F&O tools
Today's UOA read in context
Axel pulls today's top unusual strikes, cross-checks against spot level + VIX + GEX, and flags which combinations historically led to directional moves vs stuck-in-range days. Research framing, not a trade call.
Research tool · not investment advice.
Axel Markets is an information + analytics product. We are not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst (RA) or Investment Adviser (IA). Nothing on this page is a buy, sell, or hold recommendation. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Verify all data against the authoritative source (NSE, BSE, AMFI, SEBI, company RHP / factsheet) before acting. Activity from NSE's public option-chain-indices endpoint (3-minute refresh). Volume/OI ratios and OI build-up % are calculated from current-session data; deep OTM strikes with thin liquidity can show noisy prints. Classification is based on intraday direction of last price + change in OI — robust during trending sessions, less reliable in choppy tape. Educational research tool, not a trade recommendation.