Trading in options can be tough at times. Each trader has a unique style of trading. The question then is how do we create a product or update features that would cater to each individual trader? The Option Chain feature turned out to be the answer to these questions.
In order to completely understand what the average Options Trader wants out of a trading platform, we--The Upstox Team-- decided to ask our own customers. Between January and March, we held various seminars at our head office in Sunshine Tower, Dadar, to gauge feedback from our Upstox Pro platform users. Upstox Pro is the trading platform available on both web and mobile--built in-house. Most of the recurring questions from traders and clients surrounded the topic of Options Trading:
- How easy is it to find a cheaply priced OTM (Out of The Money) contract on Bank Nifty Weekly Options? Can I find one in 5 seconds?
- Can we compare implied volatility across the strike prices?
- How do I measure the change in open interest? Where can I find that tool on Upstox Pro?
The key was to find a way to answer all these questions with just one single, simple feature. That was the challenge. That’s why we decided to re-think the features surrounding Options and came up with the Option Chain tool. Option Chain is the best solution to all kinds of questions that an Options Trader might have. We’ve tried to anticipate all sorts of functions that an Options Traders might want and need from the platform.
Option Chain feature helps you find the best strikes available to you--as per your needs.
While planning out this tool, we revisited the feedback sheet and all the comments that we had received from our clients during the seminars. We tested the tools. And tested them again and cross-checked the functions with traders’ feedback. Trust me when I say this: we were able to suffice the needs of nearly 85% traders. How did we do that? By creating an all-in-one feature.
All-in-One Option Chain Feature
Let me highlight some of the most useful aspects of the Option Chain feature:
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Quick search
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Searching a scrip is quite easy. Just type the name of the symbol and the scrip will be shown.
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Spot and Future prices
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Knowing where the Spot or Future is trading at, is quite important. This will be displayed at the top right corner of the widget.
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Vertical comparison of rates
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Chain provides the luxury of comparing different rates as per strikes and helps you find the right combination.
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In-depth scrip details
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When a user wants to know any additional details about the particular contract such as circuit levels, OHLC (Open High Low Close) values or market depth then a double-click on the specific contract opens up a detailed view.
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Quick order entry
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If you happen to make a trading decision then a click on the values of Ask and Bid prices will open a buy order entry and a sell order entry.
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Tracking positions
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Do you have multiple positions across various strikes in the chain? A plus "+" icon gets activated and becomes clickable. A click will slide down and reflect the position that you hold with the details of product type, MTM and net quantity. It also gives you a button to square off, in case your position is open.
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Greeks
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Chain has provided a switcher on the widget header. When switched to greeks, few columns are replaced with Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega and Rho.
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Implied volatility
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Common among option traders, this is an important column made available to measure the volatility.
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Open interest and change in OI
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Knowing where the pressure is building is quite important in option trading due to the vast availability of strikes. OI and its change is available on the Chain feature.
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Performance indicator
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This is one of the unique features that the Upstox team has created exclusively for its customers. Based on the change in the Last Traded Price (LTP) and OI from its previous close, performance indicator highlights the sentiments about a particular option contract. Understanding the behavior of an option contract using a sophisticated tool such as the Performance Indicator can help traders like you get all the relevant information right at your fingertips. A click on the text will populate the measurement parameters.
We hope that this helps you pick the right option to trade. Many have already started using this tool and it’s proving effective. Let us know how it was useful for you!
Find out how to build an Options trading strategy and read other articles on Market Talk about Butterfly Spread Option Strategy.