Synthetics & risk reversals
Bearish
Debit or credit
Risk: Large both ways, like futures
Synthetic short futures
Also called: Short call + long put
Sell a call and buy a put at the same strike and expiry: the pair moves inversely point for point, like short futures.
Payoff sketch (per unit, index points)
At expiry
Today (7 days left)
Net premium
Credit 31 pts
Max profit
Large as the price falls
Max loss
Unlimited above the chart
Breakeven
25,031
How it works
The mirror of the synthetic long: the short call carries the unlimited upside risk, the long put the downside gain.
It is also one half of a box spread and of conversion/reversal arbitrage.
When traders use it
- A short futures exposure on a weekly expiry, or as part of an arbitrage.
Greeks
| Delta | About −1. |
| Gamma | Near zero. |
| Theta | Near zero. |
| Vega | Near zero. |
Profit, loss and margin
| Max profit | Large: the underlying's full fall below the breakeven. |
| Max loss | Unlimited above the breakeven. |
| Breakeven | Strike − net debit (or + net credit). |
| Margin | About a futures margin, through the short call. |
In India
- Short options are margined like futures: NSE Clearing's SPAN risk margin plus an exposure margin (2% of notional for index contracts, 3.5% for stocks in Arthfy's model). An at-the-money short option on NIFTY typically blocks well over a lakh of rupees per lot.
- A long option that finishes in the money is exercised automatically. STT is then charged on its intrinsic value at the exercise rate (0.15% from 1 April 2026 in Arthfy's cost model), instead of the sale rate on the premium (also 0.15%) that applies when the option is sold before the close. See the lesson on the STT exercise trap.
- STT is charged on the premium when an option is sold (0.15% of premium from 1 April 2026 in Arthfy's cost model). A short option left to expire, in or out of the money, is not charged STT again at settlement.
- Since 20 November 2024 each exchange keeps one weekly index expiry: NIFTY on NSE and SENSEX on BSE. Since September 2025 NSE contracts expire on Tuesdays and BSE contracts on Thursdays. BANKNIFTY, FINNIFTY, MIDCPNIFTY and stock options expire monthly (NSE on the last Tuesday). A holiday moves the expiry to the previous trading day.
Arthfy numbers
Arthfy's history covers single options and spreads, not synthetic futures.
Try it in the F&O hub
Opens the tool with this structure on today's NIFTY chain. Reading is free with an Arthfy account; some runs use free attempts.Open in the builderPayoff, Greeks, scenario grid and charges on today's NIFTY chain
Backtest since 2016Daily data, every NIFTY expiry
Replay on expiry daysMinute data since October 2024
Open the option chainLive premiums, IV and Greeks
