Intraday volumes chart
The Intraday volumes chart shows, strike by strike, the volume of options traded during the day, separating calls from puts. Unlike Open Interest, which counts contracts already open, volume tells you about today’s activity: where trading is concentrating, refreshed every minute.
Volumes by strike on SPX, with Show Levels on: the blue dashed SPOT line is the current price, and the lighter bar on each side is the most traded strike.
Where it is
Section titled “Where it is”Side menu, Symbol → Intraday Analysis → Volumes. It refers to the active symbol. Available on the Premium and Ultra plans; it also works on futures, within the limits described in On futures.
How to read it
Section titled “How to read it”- The chart shows one expiration: the nearest, today’s when there is one (0DTE). It cannot be changed on this page; the date is in the legend and on the Expiration card.
- Each bar is a strike, and its height is the volume traded on that strike. Calls rise above the zero line in green, puts go below it in red; the bar of each side’s largest strike is drawn in a lighter shade.
- The blue dashed SPOT line marks the current price, so you can judge which concentrations sit above and which below the market.
- The legend gives the Call Volume and Put Volume totals of the whole expiration, which the Strike Filter does not change, and the P/C Ratio. Clicking a legend item hides or shows that series or line.
- The cards under the chart give Spot Price, Last Update, Expiration, Support MM, Resistance MM, Max Call Strike, Max Call Volume, Max Put Strike and Max Put Volume.
- The data reloads every 60 seconds: the countdown is in the header, and Last Update says when it last arrived. It pauses while the browser tab is hidden.
Controls
Section titled “Controls”- Strike Filter — starts at ± 2% Moneyness. The menu offers All, Custom min to max (two strike prices), and ± 1%, ± 2%, ± 5%, ± 10%, ± 20%, ± 30% and ± 50% Moneyness; confirm with Apply.
- Show Levels — off by default. It draws the market maker support (SUP MM, green) and resistance (RES MM, red) while the market is open or in pre-market, and the session OPEN (yellow) while it is open; with the market closed it draws nothing. When a level sits outside the filtered strikes, the chart widens to include it.
- Net Positions — on each strike keeps only the larger side, by the difference between calls and puts. The legend totals stay gross.
- Rotate chart — the bars start vertical on a computer and horizontal on a phone; Rotate chart switches between the two.
- Zoom with the mouse wheel, or by pinching, on the strikes; Reset Zoom appears while the chart is zoomed.
- The camera icon (Save chart) downloads the chart as an image, the expand icon (Full screen) opens it full screen.
The page remembers, for each symbol, the Strike Filter, Show Levels, Net Positions and the lines you hid from the legend. Rotation and zoom start over at every visit.
Why traders use it
Section titled “Why traders use it”Volume is the leading edge of positioning. Open Interest only updates once contracts settle, so a strike being aggressively traded today shows up in volume first and in Open Interest tomorrow. Watching where volume clusters relative to spot is therefore how you catch positioning being built, rather than reading it after the fact.
The Put/Call ratio of volumes is the intraday sentiment cue: it moves during the session, whereas the Open Interest ratio barely changes within a day.
Open Interest or volumes?
Section titled “Open Interest or volumes?”The two charts complete each other: Open Interest shows where positions are already open, volumes show where trading is happening now. A sudden concentration of volume on a strike can precede a change in Open Interest in the following days.
On futures
Section titled “On futures”It also works on futures with listed options, such as ES and NQ, with two differences from stocks and indices:
- Volume and open interest are only available for strikes near the price, about ±3% on ES. The header says so with the Vol/OI only within ±X% notice, which gives the covered band: a wider strike filter adds no data.
- Show Levels on ES and NQ draws the day’s market maker supports and resistances from the Gaudio Indicator, while the market is open or in pre-market. Other futures have no market maker levels: Show Levels draws only the OPEN line.
European symbols
Section titled “European symbols”Symbols whose options trade on Eurex or IDEM, such as European and Italian stocks and the FTSE MIB, have no intraday data: the page shows an End of Day data card with the buttons Build your strategies and EOD options chain. Italian stocks and the FTSE MIB have their end-of-day positioning in the Open Interest study and the Volume study.
Common mistakes
Section titled “Common mistakes”- Reading volume without Open Interest context. A big volume day on a strike with no Open Interest is a different story from one on a heavily held strike.
- Overreacting to a single print. One large block can dominate a bar; look at the shape of the profile, not just the tallest bar.
- Comparing morning and afternoon volumes as if they were comparable. Volume accumulates through the session, so bar heights grow all day by construction.
- Widening the strike filter on a futures contract and expecting more bars. Volume and open interest only arrive within the band the header notice gives: past it, the chart does not change.
Frequently asked questions
What does the intraday volumes chart show in Gaudio OTT?
The number of call and put option contracts traded during the current session, plotted strike by strike, with a dashed line at the current price and a legend giving the totals and the Put/Call ratio of volumes.
How is the volumes chart different from the Open Interest chart?
Volume counts the contracts traded today, so it shows activity as it happens. Open Interest counts the contracts currently open, so it shows accumulated positioning. Volume leads: a strike traded heavily today typically changes its Open Interest over the following days.
Which plans include the intraday volumes chart?
Premium and Ultra. It belongs to the Intraday feature group, which is not part of the Free or Strategy plans.
Does the intraday volumes chart support futures?
Yes, on futures with listed options such as ES and NQ. Volume and open interest are only available for strikes near the price, though, about ±3% on ES, and the header notice gives the covered band.
Why do the bars keep growing during the session?
Because volume accumulates: the chart shows the total traded since the open, so bar heights can only increase during the day. Compare the shape of the profile rather than absolute heights taken at different times.
Related pages
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