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Check Margin Before Selling a Straddle

To check the margin for selling a NIFTY straddle or strangle, open the Straddle Seller: it shows the margin to sell every call and put strike from NSE's SPAN file, on one option chain. After you pick the strikes, it shows how buying a hedge further out changes the margin, the premium received and the credit on margin.

ToolsStraddle seller, Payoff terminal (Margin (basket))
InstrumentsNIFTY, next five expiries
When it updatesRe-checked every 5 seconds while the page is visible; SPAN file checked every 5 minutes
Open itquintalmind.com/screener/straddle-seller

Steps​

  1. Sign in with your broker and open /screener/straddle-seller, or open Sheets and switch to Screener.
  2. Choose an expiry at the top.
  3. Read the Call margin and Put margin columns. Each margin cell also shows how far the strike is from spot (ATM, OTM 2, ITM 1 and so on).
  4. Click the call margin and the put margin at the same strike for a straddle, or at different strikes for a strangle.
  5. Set Lots in the summary strip.
  6. Click a strike further out on a sold side to add it as a hedge. Do the same on the other side if you want.
  7. Compare Margin required, You receive, On margin, Q-Lift and Hedge cost before and after the hedge.

What to look at​

  • How the margin is built. Total margin = SPAN margin + exposure margin − the net premium you receive at live prices. Exposure margin applies to sold legs only.
  • Why a hedge changes margin. A bought leg further out reduces the worst-case loss in NSE's SPAN scenarios, so SPAN goes down. The summary shows how much less margin is needed and what the hedge costs.
  • On margin. What you receive as a percentage of the margin.
  • Q-Lift. Credit on margin after the hedge divided by credit on margin before it, for example 1.20x.
  • The soft tint. Up to three hedges per side close to the highest credit on margin are tinted, only where Q-Lift is above 1. It is a reading aid, not a recommendation. You choose hedges yourself.
  • Outside market hours. The page uses last prices, and NSE's newest file may be the next session's, so figures can differ slightly from the last close.

Quintal Mind does not place orders. If you signed in with Zerodha, Alice Blue or FYERS, Buy and Sell buttons open the legs as a basket on your broker's own page.

FAQ​

How much margin do I need to sell a Nifty straddle?​

Quintal Mind's Straddle Seller shows it. Click the call margin and the put margin at the strike you want to sell, and the summary shows Margin required for your lots, worked out from NSE's SPAN file plus exposure margin, less the premium received at live prices.

Does buying a hedge reduce the margin on a short straddle?​

After you sell a strike, each strike further out on that side shows the margin with that hedge bought. The summary shows the new margin, how much less it is than without the hedge, and the hedge cost.

Does the Straddle Seller cover Bank Nifty or Sensex?​

No. It covers NIFTY for the next five expiries. The Payoff Terminal shows a basket margin for strategies built on other indices and on MCX.

Quintal Mind shows market data and analytics for information only. Nothing here is investment advice, and Quintal Mind does not place orders.

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