Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF (PSCT) Max Pain Analysis
Max pain is the strike price where aggregate option buyer payout is minimized at expiration. It represents the price at which option writers retain the most premium.
Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF (PSCT) operates in the Financial Services sector, specifically the Asset Management industry, with a market capitalization near $361.9M, listed on NASDAQ, carrying a beta of 1.55 to the broader market. The Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF (Fund) is based on the S&P SmallCap 600 Capped Information Technology Index (Index). public since 2010-04-07.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $78.97
- Max Pain Strike
- $79.00
- Total OI
- 131
As of May 15, 2026, Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF (PSCT) max pain sits at $79.00, which is essentially at the current spot price of $78.97 (<0.1% away). Spot is essentially pinned to max pain right now; the gravitational center and the actual price coincide, the regime where end-of-cycle pinning is mechanically most plausible. PSCT sits in the lower-price band (spot $78.97), where $0.50-$2.50 strike spacing makes pin-to-strike effects easy to spot but per-contract dollar gamma is smaller. Total open interest across the listed chain is comparatively thin (131 contracts), so single-strike pinning is less reliable than it is for high-OI names. PSCT is currently in negative dealer gamma (-$2.8K), a regime that amplifies directional moves rather than damping them, weakening the pin-toward-max-pain bias. Max pain identifies the strike at which the aggregate dollar value of all outstanding options contracts would expire with the least total intrinsic value, a gravitational reference rather than a price target.
PSCT Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot effectively pinned the $79.00 max-pain level and Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF in a negative-gamma regime, where dealer hedging amplifies directional moves and weakens any pin, strategy selection turns on cycle position and dealer positioning. Iron condors and credit spreads centered near the max-pain strike capture the typical end-of-cycle convergence when the regime supports pinning; ratio backspreads or directional debit structures fit names where catalyst flow is likely to overwhelm the hedging-driven pull. The gamma-exposure page shows the per-strike dealer book that determines whether hedging will reinforce or fight the pin.
Learn how max pain is reported and how to read the data →
Frequently asked PSCT max pain analysis questions
- What is the current PSCT max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF (PSCT) max pain sits at $79.00, which is 0.0% above the current spot price of $78.97. Max pain identifies the strike at which aggregate option-buyer payouts at expiration are minimized; it is a gravitational reference, not a price target. PSCT is essentially pinned right now - the gravitational center and the actual price coincide.
- Does PSCT pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- PSCT is currently in negative dealer gamma, a regime that amplifies directional moves rather than damping them. The pin-toward-max-pain bias weakens here because dealer hedging adds momentum rather than mean reversion. Total open interest across PSCT (131 contracts) is one input to how plausible a clean pin is - heavier total OI concentrated at fewer strikes raises the probability; thin OI spread across many strikes lowers it. Pinning is strongest in heavily-traded names with large open-interest concentrations at high-OI strikes during the final week of an OPEX cycle. Whether PSCT actually pins on a given expiration depends on the OI distribution, the dealer-gamma sign, and the absence of catalyst-driven moves that overwhelm hedging-driven flow.
- How is PSCT max pain calculated?
- Max pain is computed by summing the dollar value of all in-the-money options at each candidate settlement strike across listed expirations, then selecting the strike that minimizes total intrinsic-value payout to option buyers. The calculation uses the full open-interest distribution and weighs both calls and puts. PSCT put/call OI ratio is 0.66 - call-heavy, which biases the max-pain calculation toward strikes above current spot when the call OI concentrates there.