This is in stark contrast to the sentiment at the 70 strike, where there are about three and a half times as many puts as calls. That level was able to provide support during a late-February drop in the stock. Index Volume and Index Open Interest Index option analysis is not as significant as it used to be due to the severe drop in trading activity mentioned earlier. That aside, most index options also have more specific factors working against any potential use as a sentiment indicator. What was once a common front-page indicator is becoming more and more of an afterthought or supporting indicator.
SPX options have incredibly high open interest and low volume.
Much of the volume is also in large blocks. These facts point to SPX options being used largely by institutions to hedge against existing SPX-mimicking portfolios. There was a brief surge in the popularity of DJX options in late February when the venerable Dow broke below the key 10,000 level, but that popularity has since died down.