thetaOwl

FXI

iShares China Large-Cap ETFClose $36.46EOD only
Max Pain
$36.00
Next expiry Apr 17, 2026
Expected Move
±$0.60
1.7% from close
Price Gap
-0.46
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
14
Low premium
P/C OI
1.08
Balanced positioning
Consensus
6.0/10
Range bias
Published snapshot: Apr 13, 2026 close
End-of-day snapshot

This page reflects FXI options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.

Published Snapshot
Apr 13, 2026 close
FXI Flow Report
Analysis based on market close April 13, 2026

Historical consensus-supported lens with full content, report chain context, and metric rail.

Flow Verdict

BiasBearish
Confirmation: Sustained negative net premium (<= -$1.0M) and P/C volume ratio remaining >1.2 with price failing to clear $37.00
Invalidation: Net premium flips positive (>$+0.5M), P/C volume ratio drops below 0.9, and spot closes decisively above $38.00
Confidence:
6 / 10
base 6.0 (base 5; -1 GEX/flow contradict; +1 GEX pinning; +0.5 spot 1.3% from MP; +0.5 VIX 19)

Watch next session: Put flow and volume at $36.00 and $37.00 strikes (heavy OI + recent volume); Price action around $37.00 (pin magnet) and whether dealers absorb flow (GEX concentration +$110.9M)

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$1.7M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 1.60 — put-volume dominant (meaningful skew)

P/C OI ratio: 1.08 — put OI slightly larger than call OI (positioning biased to downside)

Flow is biased toward protection or bearish directional exposure: puts account for more traded premium and volume today, producing a net negative premium of $-1.7M. Dealers are net positive gamma (+$5.1M) and there are large put OI clusters near $36-$37 which create a pinning environment; expect price to test the $37 pin/magnet with downside pressure if selling continues.

Notable Prints

#1
Aggregate $36.00 strikes (calls vs puts) - top premium flow
Vol: 2,724
OI: 117,509
Vol/OI: 0.0x
IV: 39.3%
Notional: ~$4.56M premium traded (Call $1,929,451 / Put $2,637,387 => Net -$707,936)
Intent: Net put buying / protective hedging at $36.00 (bearish or portfolio protection)
Dual read: Could be directional put buys (bearish) or institutions buying protection for long equity exposure (hedge).

Read-through: Large put premium and heavy volume at $36 with large OI suggests active put accumulation/hedging — adds downside weighting and increases likelihood of pinning pressure toward $36-$37.

#2
$37.00 strikes (calls OI 91,179 / puts OI 152,503) — net premium flow favors calls in premium table
Vol: 1,382
OI: 152,503
Vol/OI: 0.0x
IV: 22.9%
Notional: ~$819k net call premium at $37 (Call $666,174 / Put $153,556 => Net +$512,618)
Intent: Fresh call purchases or sellable call flow around the pin (possible income trades or targeted upside exposure)
Dual read: Could be directional call buyers (bullish) OR covered-call/overwriting by institutions (neutral to mildly bearish).

Read-through: Despite overall put dominance, sizable call OI and positive call net premium at $37 supports dealer pinning to that strike (GEX +$110.9M). Expect price to gravitate to $37 absent large new sell pressure.

#3
$42/$43 puts (top premium flow negative)
Vol: 0
OI: 0
Vol/OI: 0.0x
IV: N/A
Notional: ~$1.28M net put premium across $42/$43 lines (42: Put $710,128; 43: Put $606,790 => Net -$1,316,918 across both strikes vs small call flow)
Intent: Long-dated/OTM downside protection or skewed hedges (buyers of far OTM puts)
Dual read: Directional tail protection vs structured hedges for larger portfolios.

Read-through: Premium concentrated in higher-strike puts indicates institutions paying for downside protection beyond the immediate near-term strikes — supports the bearish flow narrative and willingness to pay for left-tail protection.

#4
$38.00 calls (premium positive)
Vol: 8
OI: 34,389
Vol/OI: 0.0x
IV: 23.4%
Notional: ~$522k call premium (Call $521,916 / Put $40,086 => Net +$481,830 at $38)
Intent: Targeted upside exposure or defensive call buys to offset put-heavy books
Dual read: Directional upside vs synthetically hedging put-heavy positions.

Read-through: Smaller call premium at $38 provides some upside insurance for participants while the bulk of activity remains on the put side; not large enough to flip directional bias.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: $37.00 and $38.00 show call premium/inflow (call OI clusters: $37.00 = 91,179 OI; $38.00 = 34,389 OI). Some call buying/overwriting around the $37 pin is evident.

Put additions: Concentrated put accumulation at $36.00 (OI 117,509, volume 2,724) and large put OI at $37.00 (152,503 OI) and $32.00 (124,166 OI) indicating downside protection and structural put floors.

GEX/DEX consistency: Partially consistent — GEX is positive (+$5.1M) and there is a strong GEX concentration +$110.9M at $37 which supports pinning, but flow regime is bearish (net premium -$1.7M) creating a minor contradiction already captured in the confidence base score.

OI clusters: Largest OI clusters create pins/walls: $37.00 (puts 152,503 OI; calls 91,179 OI) — strong pin magnet; $36.00 (put OI 117,509) — nearby support via dealer hedging; $40.00 call wall (33,583 OI) acts as resistance near upper bound.

Hedging evidence: Yes — significant protective put evidence at $36/$37 and longer-dated OTM put premium at $42/$43 suggests institutions are either hedging downside risk or buying directional downside exposure.

Max pain context: Max pain pins concentrated at $36 (4/17) and $37 (4/24) which align with GEX concentrations; spot ($36.46) is above MP but within the 2-week expected range, so dealers can reasonably pin near $37 if flow persists.

Signal vs Noise

~FXI260417C00051000 (Call $51 exp 4/17) — very OTM (40% from spot) with Vol=210 OI=105 and IV 129.7% — likely gamma/lottery OTM buying or flow from low-prob trades, not a directional read for near-term FXI.
~High notional on $42/$43 puts likely reflects longer-horizon protection (structured hedges) rather than immediate delta bets against near-term pin — treat as hedging rather than immediate directional trigger.
~Large call OI at $37 with small recent volume could be dealers/institutions holding income positions (overwrites) — isolated call prints without sustained premium flow are likely market-maker inventory adjustments.

Key Conclusions

🐻Overall flow is bearish: net premium -$1.7M and P/C volume ratio 1.60 indicate puts dominate traded risk today.
📌Pin risk centered at $37.00 — GEX concentration +$110.9M and Max Pain $37 create a magnet; watch whether spot holds below/around $37.
🛡️Evidence of institutional hedging: concentrated put OI at $36 and $32 plus premium spent at $42/$43 suggests protective behavior rather than pure directional shorting.
⚖️Dealer gamma is positive (+$5.1M) which helps dampen intraday moves — but bearish premium flow can still push price toward put clusters.
👀Watch $36.00 and $37.00 intraday volume — continued heavy put buying or a breakout through $36 would increase downside odds; failure to break and continued call selling/overwriting supports pinning.

Read the Flow analysis for FXI for 2026-04-13. Each report is a market-close snapshot with regime read, key levels, and strategy context that translates options positioning into an actionable setup.