This page reflects MUX options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — MUX
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $17.00 (1.36 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$17.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.85
±4.6%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
8,499
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
2,273
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.27
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$18.36
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-06-18
$19.00
6/18/2026, 11:21:34 PM
2026-07-17
$5.00
7/17/2026, 11:23:40 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$17.00
8/18/2026, 11:27:24 PM
2026-09-18
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:27:24 PM
2026-11-20
$27.00
8/18/2026, 11:27:24 PM
2027-01-15
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:27:24 PM
2027-02-19
$28.00
8/18/2026, 11:27:24 PM
2027-05-21
$22.00
8/18/2026, 11:27:24 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $17.00.
MUX pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
3
0
3950700
3950700
4
400
3723400
3723800
5
800
3496100
3496900
6
1500
3269200
3270700
7
3100
3042700
3045800
9
6300
2590100
2596400
10
8100
2364000
2372100
11
10000
2139400
2149400
12
11900
1914800
1926700
13
14800
1690700
1705500
14
17700
1466800
1484500
15
20600
1252300
1272900
16
24900
1044400
1069300
17
30800
853600
884400
18
217100
685000
902100
19
611800
546300
1158100
20
1020200
416700
1436900
21
1466200
314200
1780400
22
1922800
215000
2137800
23
2417100
169000
2586100
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.