Fin Nifty (FINNIFTY) Premium Decay
Call and put premium by session Monthly contract, 7 strikes around ATM (3 either side), every session since July 2024. Premium melts towards expiry and jumps when it rolls to the next month (R). Drag the chart or the date axis to move, scroll to zoom.
This expiry: premium change
This expiry: call vs put premium Total closing premium of the same strikes; dashed grey = futures (left axis)
Latest session
Day-wise table
Premium = sum of closing prices of the call (or put) options at the selected strikes, held fixed around the latest session's ATM strike. Sessions where any of these contracts was not listed or did not trade are left out, because an untraded contract's close is stale. One point per session from NSE end-of-day data.
What our backtest found NSE bhavcopy, 8 Jul 2024 – 7 Oct 2026
Fin Nifty (FINNIFTY) Premium Decay: What It Shows
The idea in one line
Premium decay tracks how the total premium of FINNIFTY call options and put options around the money changes session by session, so you can see which side is losing value and which is gaining.
How it is calculated
We pick a fixed set of strikes around the latest at-the-money strike (ATM plus and minus 1, 3, 5 or 10 strikes), and add up the closing prices of the calls and, separately, of the puts at those strikes for every session of the selected expiry. The top chart shows how each total changed, either since the first session shown or from one session to the next.
Why a fixed set of strikes
Keeping the strikes fixed means each line follows the same contracts through time, so changes come from price moves, volatility and time decay rather than from switching strikes.
How Traders Read the FINNIFTY Premium Decay Chart
Both sides falling
When call and put premium both fall, time decay and falling volatility are dominating. This is typical of a quiet, range-bound market.
One side gaining
If put premium rises while call premium falls, FINNIFTY has moved down through these strikes; the reverse means it moved up. The futures line on the left axis shows the price move alongside.
Since first session or day by day
The cumulative view shows the total change over the period. The day-by-day view shows each session's change on its own, which makes large one-day shifts easier to spot.
Call vs put totals
The second chart shows the total premium on each side. Where the lines cross, call and put premium of these strikes are equal.
Limitations
End-of-day only
One point per session from closing prices; intraday moves are not shown.
Strike set follows the latest session
The strikes are centred on the latest session's ATM. Early in the expiry those strikes may have been far from the money.
Education, not advice
This page shows how option premium behaved. It is not a signal to buy or sell options.
FINNIFTY Premium Decay, IV Regime and the Backtest
Premium change under the candles
Call and put premium changes are drawn under FINNIFTY candles with EMA 20, 50, 100 and 200. The sentiment score reads calls gaining value against puts as bullish, puts gaining as bearish.
Does premium decay predict direction?
No. Call and put premium changes mirror the price move of the same session. What changes the pace of decay is volatility: when IVP was above 80, the next day's move was about twice as large, so premium decayed more slowly in real terms.
FINNIFTY Premium Decay: Frequently Asked Questions
What is premium decay in FINNIFTY options?
The fall in option premium over time, mainly from time decay. This page shows the combined call and put premium of strikes around the money, session by session.
Which strikes are included?
The latest at-the-money strike plus and minus the number of strikes you select. The exact range is printed above the chart.
Why did put premium rise while call premium fell?
Usually because FINNIFTY moved down: puts at these strikes gained intrinsic value and calls lost it. A rise in implied volatility can also lift both sides.
What does the day-by-day view show?
Each point is the change from the previous session only, instead of the total change since the start of the period.
Why are some early sessions missing?
A session is left out when any of the selected contracts was not yet listed or did not trade. Untraded contracts keep a stale closing price, which would make the lines look flat while the market moved.
Does fast premium decay mean I should sell options?
No. Decay describes what happened to prices. Selling options carries significant risk and this page is for education only.
Premium Decay for other indices & stocks
Data: NSE F&O bhavcopy (end of day). This page explains how market participants commonly read this data. It is for education only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.