How to chart equity put/call ratio over time

The put/call ratio as sentiment

The put/call ratio — put volume divided by call volume — is one of the oldest sentiment indicators. Extreme readings often coincide with market turning points.

Three ratios to watch

Equity PCR: individual stocks. Index PCR: S&P 500 options. Total PCR: everything combined. Each tells a different story about retail vs institutional sentiment.

Smoothing matters

Raw daily PCR is noisy. A 10-day or 21-day moving average reveals the signal. Quadesto's derived column feature can compute the SMA overlay automatically.