This page reflects XLU options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Oct 2, 2026 close
Max Pain — XLU
Data as of market close Oct 2, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-10-09 shows max pain at $39.50 (0.33 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$39.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.86
±2.2%
Days to Expiry
7
Calendar days
Total Call OI
90,290
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
3,672
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.04
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$39.83
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-10-09
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-09-25
$40.50
9/25/2026, 11:32:22 PM
2026-10-02Updated
$39.50
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2026-10-09Next
$39.50
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2026-10-16
$40.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2026-10-23
$39.50
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2026-10-30
$39.50
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2026-11-06
$39.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2026-11-20
$40.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2026-12-18
$42.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2027-01-15
$44.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2027-03-19
$40.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2027-04-16
$40.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
2027-06-17
$45.00
10/2/2026, 11:34:49 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-10-09 at max pain $39.50.
XLU pain by strike for 2026-10-09 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
30
0
3466350
3466350
36
0
1263750
1263750
37
0
897350
897350
38
1700
540250
541950
38.5
3450
395350
398800
39
7300
284000
291300
39.5
43050
186950
230000
40
255550
121200
376750
40.5
2437600
71050
2508650
41
5404700
26800
5431500
41.5
8430100
350
8430450
42
11480900
0
11480900
42.5
15904300
0
15904300
43
20388600
0
20388600
43.5
24876150
0
24876150
44
29367000
0
29367000
44.5
33872600
0
33872600
45
38382800
0
38382800
45.5
42895250
0
42895250
46
47408750
0
47408750
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.