NIFTY Volatility Surface — Live
Multi-expiry implied volatility for NIFTY — ATM IV per expiry, put-call skew, term-structure slope.
Per-expiry IV summary (nearest 6 expiries)
📊 Live visualisation
What is the NIFTY volatility surface?
The volatility surface is a 2-D map of implied volatility across STRIKES (horizontal axis) and EXPIRIES (depth axis). At any instant, every listed NIFTY option has an IV; connecting them all reveals structure that a single 'ATM IV' number hides. The two most useful axes: the smile at one expiry (IV rises as you move away from ATM in either direction — a 'smile' shape) and the term structure (front-month IV vs back-month IV — usually rising with time, called contango). This page shows the essentials of both.
How to read the term-slope chip
Contango (up-slope, positive term slope) = further-dated IV is HIGHER than near-dated. Normal state — the market prices more risk into longer horizons. Backwardation (down-slope, negative term slope) = near-dated IV is HIGHER than far-dated. Occurs during stress — the market fears an imminent event more than a general vol regime. Sustained backwardation is rare and usually mean-reverts within 5-10 sessions. When the chip shows 'backwardation', check for imminent events (RBI, budget, earnings) that would explain elevated near-term risk.
IV smile and put-call skew
Each expiry row shows the SKEW — average put IV minus average call IV. Positive skew (put IV > call IV) is normal — the market prices crash protection higher than upside chase. Typical NIFTY skew is +1 to +3 vol points. Negative skew (calls more expensive than puts) is rare, usually a sign of a runaway upside move or unusual event. Skew above +5 vol points signals crash-fear extreme (buy the fear-put? or ride the rally?) and often mean-reverts.
Trading the surface
Calendar spreads exploit term-structure dislocations: buy the cheap expiry, sell the expensive expiry, wait for the slope to normalise. Ratio spreads exploit smile dislocations: sell rich OTM strikes, buy cheap ATM strikes. Diagonal spreads combine both. When the surface shows an unusual shape (e.g. sudden negative skew, or extreme contango), it usually contains actionable information — the market is repricing something ahead of a catalyst.
3D surface visualisation (dashboard)
This page shows the numerical summary. The full interactive 3D surface — spinnable, zoomable, with IV colour-mapped per (strike, expiry) cell — is inside [/dashboard](/dashboard) IV section for logged-in users. Free tier gets the 2-D smile per expiry; Pro tier gets the full 3D surface with live tick updates and skew alerts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's a normal term structure slope for NIFTY?
Front-back IV difference of +0.5 to +2.0 vol points is normal contango. Below 0 (backwardation) is stress; above +3 is unusual complacency.
How often is the surface updated?
60-sec cache on this public page. Live 5-15 sec inside /dashboard.
Why does IV differ across expiries?
Time-varying event risk. RBI decisions, budgets, earnings all bunch into specific expiries and lift IV there.
What's put-call skew?
Average put IV minus average call IV. Positive = crash-fear premium. Negative = upside-chase premium (rare).
Where does the data come from?
Multi-expiry option chain via Kite Connect. All expiries queried in one call, cached 60s.
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