Options Chains Overview Help
DTN.IQ Option Chains application has been upgraded in version 2.4 to include the ability to retrieve not only Equity Options, but also Futures, Futures Options, and Futures Spreads. The Option Chain application is like a watch list except it only contains the contracts that match the criteria chosen. Chains can be used to retrieve all active symbols for equity options, futures and futures options, or futures spreads. For example, if you enter MFST (Microsoft) and choose Equity Options in the criteria settings screen, the system finds all the options currently available for Microsoft. The options are divided into LEAPS (Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities), which are long-term options that expire in the following calendar years. You can recognize LEAPS by the first few letters of the options.
The following table describes the components of a Option Chains window.
| Component | Description |
| Toolbar | Buttons and drop-down menus from which to make your selections |
| Blank window | Appears when you first open Option Chains |
| Puts and Calls data | Puts and calls raw data retrieved for an equity symbol |
| Level I data | Optional; Level I quote data for the selected equity symbol |
| Status bar | Current task Number of puts and calls retrieved When to calculate Greeks Historical volatility; interest rate; style of calculations |
The following table describes the puts and calls data on the Option Chains window.
| Column Heading | Description |
| Symbol | Symbol for the option. |
| Expire Date | Date options contract expires. The first Saturday after the third Friday of the month. |
| Strike Price | Price at which the underlying security can be sold (bought). |
| Time | Time of the last trade. |
| Price | Price of a trade. A trade by definition is a buy and a sell at a given price. |
| Vol Incr | Amount of last trade of this option. |
| Change | Change in price from the prior close. |
| Total Vol | Number of shares traded. |
| Open Interest | Number of outstanding contracts. |
| Ask Price | Price the seller is asking for a stock. |
| Bid Price | Price at which people are willing to buy a stock. |
| Day Hi | Highest price the stock reached for the day. |
| Day Lo | Lowest price the stock reached for the day. |
| Close Price |
Price at close of yesterday’s market.
|
| Open Price | Today’s opening price. Note: Open and close prices may differ because there is trading overnight, such as on Instinet. |
| Delta | Measure of the option price sensitivity to changes in the underlying stock price. The gain (loss) of the option price roughly equals delta times increase (decrease) of the stock price, provided the other parameters (time to expiration, interest rate, and volatility) are fixed.
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| Theta | Measure of the option price sensitivity to the passage of time. Expected gain (loss) of the option price during a period of time roughly equals theta times this period, provided that during the time period other parameters (stock price, interest rate, and volatility) are fixed.
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| Vega | Measure of the option price sensitivity to changes of this parameter. Expected gain (loss) of the option price roughly equals vega times the increase (decrease) of volatility, provided other parameters (stock price, time to expiration, and interest rates) are fixed.
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| Rho | Measure of the option price sensitivity to changes of this parameter. Expected gain (loss) of the option price roughly equals rho times the increase (decrease) in interest rate, provided other parameters (stock price, time to expiration, and volatility) are fixed.
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| Gamma | Measure of the delta sensitivity to changes of the underlying stock price. Gain (loss) of the option’s delta roughly equals gamma times increase (decrease) of the stock price. Gamma is normally used in relatively complicated trading strategies.
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| Fair Value | Theoretical price of the option as calculated by the Black Scholes algorithm. |
| Implied Volatility | Black Scholes calculated volatility of the option. |
| Diff (Fair Value – Price) | Simple subtraction of one from the other. |
| Days To Expiration | Days from today until option expiration date. |
You can use the buttons and menus on the toolbar to perform Option Chain functions. The following table presents the functions you can perform from the toolbar.
| To perform this function: | Click on: |
| Select the symbol for which to retrieve Option Chains |  |
| Search for a symbol |  |
| Retrieve Futures, Options, Spreads Data |  |
| Setup Chain Retrieval Criteria |  |
| Customize Option Chains |  |
| Print Option Chains data |  |
| Save Options Chains data to a file |  |
| Get a SnapQuote for the selected symbol |  |
| Create a DTN.IQ Chart for the selected symbol |  |
| Access news articles for the selected symbol |  |
| Show Time & Sales data for the selected symbol |  |
| Toggle Level I data to show/hide |  |
| Toggle zero volume calls to show/hide |  |
| Toggle zero volume puts to show/hide |  |
| Toggle calls/puts headers to show/hide |  |
| Recalculate Greeks |  |
| Cycle calls/puts to show/hide |  |
| Enter Historical volatility |  |
Here is an example of an Option Chains status bar:
The Option Chains status bar displays the following information:
Current task the system is performing, such as retrieving data or calculating Greeks
Number of puts and calls retrieved
When to calculate Greeks:
- On request
- Every time stock price or option price changes
- Every specified number of minutes
- Required data for calculations:
- Historical volatility in percent
- Interest rate in percent
- Style of calculations:
- American
- European
When you right click on a Option Chain window, a menu of available options appears. The following table presents the right mouse menu options you can use to perform Option Chain functions.
| Activity | Right Mouse Command |
| Search for a symbol | Company Search |
| Get Option Chain data for the symbol | Get Data |
| Edit the criteria for Greek calculation. | Display Greek Calculator |
| Display Regional quotes for an option. | Show Regional Quotes for a Selected Cell |
| Remove Regional Quotes from Option Chain. | Remove Regional Quotes |
| Create an Alert for an Option symbol. | Alerts |
| Customize Option Chains | Settings |
| Filtering Data | Filter Lists |
| Re-displaying filtered data and hidden rows | Undo Filtering |
| Sorting Data | Sort Lists |
| Hiding Selected Rows | Hide Selected Rows |
| Print Option Chains data | |
| Save Options Chains data to a file | Save to File |
| Get a SnapQuote for the selected symbol | SnapQuote |
| Create a DTN.IQ Chart for the selected symbol | Chart |
| Access news articles for the selected symbol | News |
| Show Time & Sales data for the selected symbol | Time & Sales |
| Trade Online | Preferred Trade |
When you right click on the Level I data at the top of the Option Chains window, a menu of available options appears. The following table presents the right mouse menu options you use to perform Level I functions.
| Activity | Right Mouse Command |
| Print Level I data | |
| Select the colors for Level I data | Colors |
| Trade Online | Preferred Trade |