This page reflects DOW options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
May 20, 2026 close
Max Pain — DOW
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-05-22 shows max pain at $37.50 (1.23 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$37.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.24
±3.4%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
9,027
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
5,953
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.66
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$36.27
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-05-22
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-05-08
$38.00
5/8/2026, 11:10:40 PM
2026-05-15
$37.50
5/15/2026, 11:12:39 PM
2026-05-22NextUpdated
$37.50
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-05-29
$38.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-06-05
$39.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-06-12
$37.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-06-18
$32.50
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-06-26
$36.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-07-17
$40.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-08-21
$30.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-09-18
$30.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2026-12-18
$30.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2027-01-15
$35.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
2027-03-19
$30.00
5/20/2026, 11:09:31 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-05-22 at max pain $37.50.
DOW pain by strike for 2026-05-22 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
20
0
9161300
9161300
25
1000
6184800
6185800
26
2100
5595200
5597300
27
3200
5005800
5009000
28
4500
4416400
4420900
29
5800
3828900
3834700
29.5
7050
3535350
3542400
30
8300
3241950
3250250
31
11300
2661650
2672950
31.5
13300
2372900
2386200
32
15500
2084150
2099650
32.5
18050
1797350
1815400
33
20650
1510550
1531200
33.5
23450
1286500
1309950
34
26450
1064000
1090450
34.5
29950
906050
936000
35
33700
753400
787100
35.5
43550
611950
655500
36
54300
473300
527600
36.5
66450
343750
410200
How to Read Max Pain
Compare pin-risk and strike-pressure across expirations from the latest published close.
What max pain measures
Max pain is the strike where option holders would collectively lose the most at expiration, based on open interest across the listed chain.
How traders use it
It is most useful as a possible pinning zone, especially when spot is already trading near a crowded strike into expiration.
What can break it
Strong directional flows, news, or fast spot moves can overwhelm any pinning tendency, so max pain should support a thesis rather than drive it alone.
The closer you are to expiration, the more useful this becomes as context and the less useful it is as a standalone prediction.