Index · Index Options
SPX Max Pain, Implied Volatility & Options Data
S&P 500 Index (SPX) options data: IV rank, options chain, GEX and Greeks. This page shows where SPX max pain sits for the nearest expirations and how the contracts behind it settle.
The SPX gamma exposure page is free and needs no account. Visitors can open the Terminal on AAPL; the Terminal on SPX comes with the 7-day free trial, offered inside it.
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SPX max pain
End of day, November 13, 2026SPX max pain for the Fri, Nov 20, 2026 AM-settled expiration is 7,575, 0.2% above the index level of 7,558.91, end of day November 13, 2026.
SPX max pain is the strike at which the SPX options open on one expiration would pay their holders the least in total if the index settled there.
| Expiration | Max pain | vs index level | Call open interest | Put open interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 20, 2026 AM-settled (monthly) | 7,575 | 0.2% above | 848,771 | 1,249,915 |
| Fri, Nov 20, 2026 PM-settled | 7,630 | 0.9% above | 132,813 | 426,616 |
The level on this page is worked out once per trading day, after the close, from that day's open interest. It is a reading of positioning, not a forecast. How max pain works · max pain calculator
SPX options are options on the S&P 500 Index itself, listed on Cboe. They settle in cash and can only be exercised at expiration (European style). The standard monthly contract is AM-settled. The weekly, daily, end-of-month and end-of-quarter contracts are PM-settled.
SPX live chain, Greeks and GEX
TerminalEvery figure above is reference data. The live SPX chain, its Greeks, the gamma profile and the flow tape update through the session inside the Terminal.
SPX options at a glance
- Settlement
- Cash
- Exercise
- European
- Multiplier
- $100
- Expirations
- Daily, weekly, monthly, LEAPS
- Regular hours
- 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET (an expiring SPXW contract stops at 4:00 p.m.)
- Mini contract
- XSP, 1/10th the index
About S&P 500 Index (SPX)
Cboe describes the S&P 500 as a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks from a broad range of industries. You cannot buy the index itself, so there are no shares behind an SPX option. At expiration an in-the-money option pays the difference between its strike and the settlement value, times the multiplier.
Contract profile
- Underlying
- S&P 500 Index
- Exchange
- Cboe
- Symbols
- SPX (AM-settled monthly), SPXW (PM-settled weekly and daily)
- Settlement value symbol
- SET (the AM settlement value Cboe publishes)
One contract covers the index level times $100, which makes a single SPX option a large position. Cboe also lists Mini-SPX (XSP) options, based on 1/10th the value of the index.
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SPX options market overview
SPX options come in two kinds. The standard monthly contract (symbol SPX) expires on the third Friday and is AM-settled. Trading stops the business day before, usually a Thursday, and the contract settles on a special opening quotation (SOQ): a value built on Friday morning from the opening trade price of each stock in the index. Cboe notes that the SOQ can fall outside the index's own open, high, low and close for that day. Weekly and daily contracts (symbol SPXW) are PM-settled and trade until 4:00 p.m. ET on their expiration day. End-of-month contracts expire on the last business day of the month and settle on that day's closing level. End-of-quarter contracts expire at the close in March, June, September and December.
- Regular hours
- 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET
- Global hours
- 8:15 p.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET
- Last trade, monthly SPX
- Business day before expiration, usually Thursday
- Last trade, SPXW
- 4:00 p.m. ET on expiration day
- End-of-month
- Last business day of the month, PM-settled
- End-of-quarter
- At the close in March, June, September and December
Third Friday: two SPX expirations on one date
On the third Friday of the month two sets of SPX options expire on the same date: the AM-settled monthly and a PM-settled SPXW. They settle at different times to different values, so each has its own open interest and its own max pain. The max pain block at the top of this page lists them on separate rows.
SPX implied volatility and IV rank
Implied volatility on SPX options is the market's price for movement in the S&P 500. The VIX Index is calculated from SPX option prices, so SPX implied volatility and the VIX rise and fall together.
Scheduled events
An index has no earnings date. The scheduled events that move SPX implied volatility are market-wide: Federal Reserve rate decisions, the monthly CPI inflation report and the monthly jobs report. Options that expire just after one of these carry the event in their price, and that extra implied volatility comes out once the number is known.
Historical volatility vs IV
Implied volatility is the movement priced into SPX options. Historical volatility is what the index actually did. Comparing the two shows whether options are priced above or below recent movement.
Term structure
SPX has expirations on every trading day, so the front of its term structure can be read day by day. When near-dated implied volatility is below longer-dated, the curve slopes up. When a near event or a selloff lifts the front, the curve inverts.
The smile, the term structure and the cone for SPX, on today's chain.
Open SPX in IV IntelligenceSPX gamma exposure (GEX)
Gamma exposure (GEX) estimates how much hedging option dealers have to do as the S&P 500 moves, strike by strike. It is built from the same open interest that max pain uses, weighted by each option's gamma.
When dealers are net long gamma they hedge against moves, which tends to dampen them. When they are net short gamma they hedge with the move, which tends to amplify it. The sign can change as the index moves through strikes with heavy open interest.
Gamma is largest for options near the index level and grows as expiration gets close. A strike with heavy open interest far from the index carries almost none. Max pain weighs every strike by open interest alone, which is why the two readings can point to different levels.
Free SPX gamma exposure chart, refreshed through the session, no account needed.
Where the gamma sits on SPX right now, strike by strike.
See live SPX GEXCommon SPX options strategies
Four structures traders often build on SPX. This is not investment advice.
Key considerations for SPX options
- A monthly SPX position cannot be closed between Thursday's last trade and Friday morning's settlement. Whatever the opening does in between goes straight into the settlement value.
- Cboe notes that SPX options may qualify for 60/40 tax treatment under section 1256 (60% long-term, 40% short-term). Check your own situation with a tax adviser.
- There is no covered call on SPX, because there is no SPX share to hold against the short call.
SPX key events
- Federal Reserve (FOMC) rate decisions
- CPI inflation report (monthly)
- Employment report (monthly)
- Monthly expiration (third Friday, AM-settled)
- End-of-month expiration (last business day, PM-settled)
- End-of-quarter expiration (March, June, September, December, at the close)
- Written by
- ApexVol Research Team
Quantitative options research. Market figures on this page come from ApexVol's options data feed. - Reviewed by
- Ryan Silk, ApexVol Founder
Reviewed for technical accuracy. 10+ years trading options; built ApexVol's pricing engine, Greeks model and IV-rank methodology.
Revised as market conditions and institutional data change. Last revised 2026-11-14. How we research →
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Questions
Frequently asked
about SPX options.
What is SPX max pain?
SPX max pain is the strike at which the SPX options open on one expiration would pay their holders the least in total if the index settled there. It is worked out from open interest, one expiration at a time. It describes positioning. It is not a forecast of where the index will settle.
Why does SPX show two max pain levels on the third Friday?
Two different sets of SPX options expire that day: the AM-settled monthly contract and a PM-settled SPXW contract. Each has its own open interest, so each has its own max pain strike.
How often is SPX max pain updated on this page?
Once per trading day, after the close. Open interest is reported once a day, so a max pain level worked out from it does not change during the session.
What is the difference between SPX and SPXW options?
Both are options on the S&P 500 Index. SPX is the standard monthly contract. It stops trading the business day before expiration, usually a Thursday, and settles on a special opening quotation built from each stock's opening trade price on Friday morning. SPXW covers the weekly and daily expirations. It trades until 4:00 p.m. ET on expiration day and is PM-settled.
What is the difference between SPX and SPY options?
SPX options are on the S&P 500 Index. SPY options are on the shares of the ETF that follows it: they deliver shares and can be exercised before expiration, which SPX options cannot. Each has its own open interest, so max pain is calculated separately for SPX and for SPY.
What are SPX options trading hours?
Regular trading hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET. Cboe also runs a global trading session from 8:15 p.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET, so SPX options trade nearly 24 hours a day, five days a week.
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