---
title: "Put call ratio: how to read PCR and what the data says"
description: "How to compute the put call ratio from open interest and from volume, why one close gives many ratios, and what dated NSE chains and published tests say."
source_url: "https://www.rupeecase.com/learn/path-15/module-15-3-put-call-ratio"
---

[Path 15 3 of 13](/learn/path-15/)Put call ratio: definitions and what the evidence says[Next 15.4](/learn/path-15/module-15-4-max-pain)

Take the Nifty chain for the 30 Jun 2026 expiry. At the close of 10 Jun its put call ratio by open interest was 1.04. On 16 Jun, after the index had risen 3.3% in four sessions, it was 1.04. On 29 Jun, with the index 0.2% lower than on 16 Jun, it was 0.77. The ratio hardly moved when the index moved most, then fell hard while the index stood still. If it is a mood gauge, I would like to know which mood. This lesson sets out what the ratio is, how many ways there are to count it, and what dated evidence says. Every figure comes from NSE end of day files, so nothing here is live and nothing is a view on where the index goes next.

3By the end you can

1. Compute a put call ratio from open interest and from volume, and say which you used.
2. Explain why one market gives different ratios by expiry, by count and by strikes.
3. Say what the evidence supports about threshold rules, and what it does not.

Watch in the terminal: how does the app call a stock large or small? A short tutorial on sample data.

## The idea, plainly

The put call ratio, PCR, is puts divided by calls. Count the put contracts, count the call contracts, divide. Above one there are more puts than calls. Below one there are more calls.

Three choices sit behind every put call ratio

Change any one and the ratio changes. A figure quoted without them is not a reading. Source: RupeeCase, from NSE end of day files. As of 10 Jun 2026.

* **Count.** Open interest is the stock of contracts still open. Volume is the flow traded in the session. They answer different questions, and for one expiry they can sit on opposite sides of one.

* **Expiry.** A weekly and a monthly of the same index carry different ratios, because different people use them.

* **Strikes.** All strikes, or only those near the index. Far strikes can hold large piles, and a window changes the answer.

Read 3 more paragraphs, 135 words
Here is the catch. Every put has a buyer and a writer, in equal number, and their results mirror each other, as the [buyer and seller module](/learn/path-14/module-14-3-option-buyer-vs-seller) shows. The writers are not bearish, and not every buyer is: some are hedging shares. The ratio counts how many put contracts exist against calls. It cannot count who stands on which side, so it cannot count mood.

Two readings circulate. One treats a high ratio as fear, since puts are bought as protection. The other treats a high ratio as support, since puts are written by people who expect the index to hold. Both are stories about who stands on which side, and a count cannot see that.

Before you quote a PCR, say which three choices sit behind it. The [question page](/learn/questions/what-is-pcr) has the short version.

## Worked example: one close, many ratios

On 10 Jun 2026 the index closed at 23,214.95. The school's files hold three Nifty expiries for that evening, and each gives two ratios.

One close, six put call ratios

The 16 Jun expiry was a weekly, the other two monthlies. Open interest is in units and volume in contracts, but each ratio uses one unit on both sides. Source: NSE end of day data, computed by RupeeCase. As of 10 Jun 2026.
The ratio sat still while the index rose, then fell while it stood still

Put call ratio by open interest of the 30 Jun 2026 Nifty chain, marked on three dates. Nifty daily close from 5 Jun to 2 Jul 2026. Source: NSE end of day data, computed by RupeeCase. As of 2 Jul 2026.

| Chain date | PCR by open interest, nearest monthly | Nifty over the next five sessions |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Feb 2026 | 1.05 | 3.50% |
| 2 Feb 2026 | 1.07 | 3.10% |
| 10 Jun 2026 | 1.04 | 3.75% |
| 16 Jun 2026 | 1.04 | −0.69% |
| 29 Jun 2026 | 0.77 | 2.02% |

Read 8 more paragraphs, 396 words
Six numbers, from 0.79 to 1.13, for one close. The 30 Jun expiry reads 1.04 by open interest and 0.79 by volume: opposite sides of one. The 16 Jun weekly reads 0.82 and 0.96, the 28 Jul monthly 1.13 and 0.81. A rule that calls a ratio above one bullish and below one bearish would call the same expiry both on the same evening, depending on the count.

The close of 7 Apr 2025, after a sharp fall, said it harder. The weekly expiring two days later read 0.58 and the 24 Apr monthly read 1.05.

Now time. Here is the ratio of the 30 Jun chain on 10 Jun, 16 Jun and 29 Jun, set against the index.

Between 10 Jun and 16 Jun the index rose 3.3% and the ratio went from 1.04 to 1.04. Between 16 Jun and 29 Jun the index barely changed and the ratio fell to 0.77. In the last session before expiry call open interest piled up, as the [open interest module](/learn/path-15/module-15-2-open-interest-on-the-option-chain) shows. The ratio followed the pile of contracts, not the index. A ratio read on the last session before expiry is mostly about contracts that are about to disappear.

Does the ratio at least lead the index? Five chains in the school's files have a close five sessions later.

Five rows are a story, not a test, and the windows overlap in pairs. Four of the five windows rose whatever the ratio said. A real test needs a ratio for every session over several years, a stated horizon and a way to handle overlapping windows. The school's files do not hold that series yet, so I will not claim a result.

What do published tests say? A widely cited one used a US data set that tagged each option trade by who was buying, who was selling and whether the trade opened a position. A ratio built only from buyers opening new positions had information about stock returns over the next week. The tag is the signal. NSE's option chain and end of day files do not carry it, so the public ratio is a blunter number.

To check a ratio yourself, open the max pain checker in the next block. It prints the open interest of calls and of puts for the chain you pick, and the division is yours.

## The common mistake

The claim: A put call ratio above 1 is bullish and below 0.7 is bearish. Other sources read the same numbers the other way round, which is the first warning. The tests above give three more. On 7 Apr 2025 the same market read 0.58 on the weekly and 1.05 on the monthly, so the rule calls it bearish and bullish at once. Open interest and volume put one expiry on opposite sides of one. And the ratio moved most on the dates when the index did least. A ratio counts contracts, and a contract has a bull and a bear on it in equal number. Read it as a description of the book, never as a vote.

## Key takeaways

* PCR is puts divided by calls. Say if it counts open interest or volume.
* Every put has a buyer and a writer. The ratio cannot tell bears from bulls.
* One close on 10 Jun 2026 gave six ratios, from 0.79 to 1.13.
* The ratio can sit still while the index moves, and fall while it stands still.
* The published signal used trade data that NSE's public files do not carry.
* Five dated chains test nothing. A threshold rule stays unproven.

Watch in the terminal: what do Herfindahl and effective holdings say? A short tutorial on sample data.

The term this section turns on: Put call ratio

From the module glossary; every term is in the Learn glossary too. Source: Module 15.3, Put call ratio: definitions and what the evidence says.
**Before you trade.** Derivatives trading carries a high risk of loss. SEBI's study "Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25 to FY26)" (August 2026) found that 87.7% of individual traders in equity F&O made net losses in FY26, with aggregate net losses of Rs 91,685 crore. [Read the SEBI study](https://www.sebi.gov.in/reports-and-statistics/research/aug-2026/study-profitability-of-individual-traders-in-the-equity-derivatives-segment-fy25-fy26-_103835.html)

What does Put call ratio: definitions and what the evidence says cover?Puts divided by calls sounds like one number. On one evening the Nifty chains gave six. What the ratio counts, and what it cannot see. It works through The idea, plainly, Worked example: one close, many ratios, The common mistake, Key takeaways. It is module 15.3 of Path 15, Option Chain and Data, about 7 minutes of reading, free.

TTry it

## Max pain checker, on the same example.
The calculation, and how it compares with a plain forecast. Dated NSE end of day data, nothing live, no orders.

**Max pain checker**, Nifty, 10 Jun 2026, 30 Jun 2026 expiry.

[Open the max pain checker](/learn/tools/max-pain-checker?chain=NIFTY_2026-06-10_2026-06-30)

  AF&O on RupeeCase

## Hedging only, in development
F&O at RupeeCase will do one job: protect a portfolio you already own, by a rule published before it runs. No speculation, no naked option selling, no leveraged bets. It is not available yet.

  [How hedging will work](/hedging)[Sign up for RupeeCase](https://invest.rupeecase.com/signup)

  [No hedgeFalls with the marketWith a putA floor, for a premiumIllustration with made up numbers, not a product and not a recommendation.](/hedging)

QQuick check

## 10 questions, 7 to pass.
Each attempt draws 10 of the 15 questions in this module's bank, and a retake draws a fresh set. A pass gives this module's Certificate of Completion. Your result stays on this device and counts towards the Path 15 certificate.

7 of 10 correct passes module 15.3

Every answer is explained when you check; a retake is always free. Source: RupeeCase Learn quiz rules (70% to pass).

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CCheck yourself

## Path 15 so far.
Your quick check results on this device, stop by stop.

Stop 3 of 13 on Path 15

Option Chain and Data: every live stop, this module ringed. Source: RupeeCase Learn, Path 15.

1. [15.1Reading the NSE option chain, column by columnNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-1-reading-the-nse-option-chain)
2. [15.2OI and change in OI on the chain: what they can and cannot tell youNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-2-open-interest-on-the-option-chain)
3. [15.3Put call ratio: definitions and what the evidence saysNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-3-put-call-ratio#quiz)
4. [15.4Max pain: the calculation and a Nifty testNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-4-max-pain)
5. [15.5Liquidity in the chain: spreads, volume and tradable strikesNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-5-option-chain-liquidity)
6. [15.6Participant wise OI and FII derivatives data, read honestlyNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-6-participant-wise-open-interest)
7. [15.7Expected move from the straddle and from IVNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-7-expected-move)
8. [15.8Who is on the other side in IndiaNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-8-who-is-on-the-other-side)
9. [15.9Gamma exposure: the computation and its assumptionsNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-9-gamma-exposure-gex)
10. [15.10Zero gamma, call wall and put wallNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-10-zero-gamma-and-walls)
11. [15.11Pinning and max OI strikes: the evidenceNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-11-pinning-and-max-oi-strikes)
12. [15.12Vanna and charm flows around expiries and eventsNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-12-vanna-and-charm-flows)
13. [15.13An Indian positioning model and its limitsNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-13-indian-positioning-model)
14. [TPath test, 30 questionsNot yet](/learn/path-15/module-15-13-indian-positioning-model#pathTestSection)

Path 15 in reading time: 119 minutes over 13 modules

Minutes of reading per module, this one in amber. Source: RupeeCase Learn, Path 15.

    Explore next

## Put the module to work.

* [ToolOption payoff builderLegs on a dated Nifty chain, breakevens and charges](/learn/tools/payoff-builder)
* [Free module 15.1Reading the NSE option chain, column by column8 min read](/learn/path-15/module-15-1-reading-the-nse-option-chain)
* [Free module 15.2OI and change in OI on the chain: what they can and cannot tell you8 min read](/learn/path-15/module-15-2-open-interest-on-the-option-chain)
* [Free module 15.4Max pain: the calculation and a Nifty test7 min read](/learn/path-15/module-15-4-max-pain)
* [Free module 15.6Participant wise OI and FII derivatives data, read honestly8 min read](/learn/path-15/module-15-6-participant-wise-open-interest)
* [QuestionWhat is PCR and how do I read it?A short answer with a dated chart](/learn/questions/what-is-pcr)

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SSources

## Go to the source.
4 sources, NSE the most cited

The publisher of each source listed below. Source: Module 15.3 source list.
1. [NSE, option chain (Nifty 50 index options)](https://www.nseindia.com/option-chain) NSE
2. [NSE, derivatives reports and bhavcopy (open interest and volume by contract)](https://www.nseindia.com/all-reports-derivatives) NSE
3. [SEBI Investor, Understanding derivatives](https://investor.sebi.gov.in/understanding_derivatives.html) SEBI
4. [Pan, J. and Poteshman, A. (2006), The Information in Option Volume for Future Stock Prices, Review of Financial Studies](https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/rfinst/v19y2006i3p871-908.html) Paper

GTerms

## 4 terms from this module.
Put call ratioPut contracts divided by call contracts, counted by open interest or by volume, for one expiry or for all of them.
Put writerThe seller of a put. The writer receives the premium and is obliged to buy if the put finishes in the money. Every put buyer has one.
HedgeA position taken to offset the risk of another, such as a put bought against a share portfolio. A put pile can hold many of them.
Opening tradeA trade that creates a new position, as against one that closes an old position. Public volume does not tell the two apart.
[All 230 terms in the glossary](/learn/glossary)

[Question people askWhat is PCR and how do I read it?A short answer with a dated chart](/learn/questions/what-is-pcr)[Related module15.1 Reading the NSE option chain, column by column8 min, Beginner](/learn/path-15/module-15-1-reading-the-nse-option-chain)[Related module15.2 OI and change in OI on the chain: what they can and cannot tell you8 min, Beginner](/learn/path-15/module-15-2-open-interest-on-the-option-chain)[Pillar guideDerivatives and Quant115 modules across paths 12 to 19](/learn/derivatives)

Education only, not investment advice, a research report or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. RupeeCase (QC Alpha Technologies Pvt Ltd) is not registered with SEBI as an investment adviser or research analyst. Contracts and prices shown are for illustration only, come from NSE end of day files at least 30 days old, and are not recommendatory. Derivatives trading carries a high risk of loss.