Option basics · Lesson 05 of 9 · Concept
In the money, at the money, out of the money
Moneyness describes where a strike sits against the current level: in the money if exercising it has value, out of the money if it does not, at the money when the strike is nearest the level. On 22 September 2026 NIFTY closed at 23,329, putting every call below that in the money and every put below it out.
NIFTY weekly expiry, 22 September 2026 · MarketCue one-minute option-chain capture
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Prices captured at the open on Tuesday, 22 September 2026. NIFTY spot at the open: 23,460. The highlighted row is nearest the money.
NIFTY closed at 23,329, down 131 points from the open. Bought 23,450 CE at ₹64.50 → settled ₹0.05. Net loss of ₹64.45 per unit, or −100% of what was put up. This was the expiry, so those closing prices are settlement values.
A description of position, not of quality
A call is in the money when the underlying trades above its strike, out of the money when it trades below, and at the money at the strike nearest the current level. For a put the directions reverse. The labels move during the session because the underlying does.
This expiry drew the line at 23,329. Every call struck at 23,300 or below finished in the money and settled at its intrinsic value; every call at 23,350 and above finished out and settled at ₹0.05. The put side divided at the same level in the opposite direction.
The boundary is a cliff, not a slope
Between the 23,300 put and the 23,350 put there are fifty points of strike. Held from the open, the first returned −99% and the second +66%. There is no gradient between them because at expiry there is no gradient: a contract either holds intrinsic value or it does not.
Away from expiry the same boundary is soft, because time value gives an out-of-the-money contract a price even when exercising it would be worthless. What collapses on the final afternoon is not the definition but the cushion around it.
The NIFTY 23,200 call finished 129 points in the money on this session and returned −54% to a buyer who entered at the open. Moneyness is a statement about the strike relative to the level. Profit is a statement about the premium paid.
Common questions
What does ITM, ATM and OTM mean?
In the money (ITM) means exercising the option has value — the underlying is above a call's strike or below a put's. Out of the money (OTM) means it does not. At the money (ATM) is the strike closest to the current level.
Does an ITM option always make a profit?
No. An option can finish in the money and still return less than its premium. On 22 September 2026 the NIFTY 23,200 call settled 129 points in the money at ₹128.80, against ₹282.80 paid at the open.
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How these figures are produced
Every price on these pages was traded on the exchange and is read from our own option-chain capture, which records the NIFTY and SENSEX chains once a minute through the session. Each page names the session its figures come from.
Figures that a model produced rather than the market — the Greeks, implied volatility — are labelled as model outputs wherever they appear, and never presented beside traded prices without saying which is which. The pricing is checked against published reference values on every change.
Where our own data cannot support a claim, the page says so instead of generalising. MarketCue is not a registered investment adviser, research analyst or broker under SEBI regulations.