Camarilla Pivot Points for Indian Intraday Trading

What Camarilla Pivot Points Actually Measure

Camarilla pivot points are price references calculated from the previous high, low and close. R labels levels above the close and S labels levels below it. This guide shows four on each side using a 1.1 multiplier. A fade means evaluating a move back toward the range; a breakout means evaluating a move beyond it. Neither is a prediction.

A fade method evaluates price reaction near R3 or S3. A breakout method uses different conditions around R4 or S4. Neither establishes that most sessions range or that a particular level must hold.

The Exact Formulas and Divisors

Each of the inner Camarilla levels shown here uses the previous day's close as the anchor and the previous day's range (High minus Low) scaled by 1.1 and a divisor. The smaller the divisor, the wider the level sits from the close. R4 and S4 use the smallest divisor of 2, while R1 and S1 hug the close with a divisor of 12. Here is the full set so you can reproduce it in any spreadsheet.

Notice the symmetry: R3 and S3 are equidistant from the close, as are R4 and S4. A useful shortcut is that the distance from the close to R4 is exactly double the distance to R3, because 1.1/2 is twice 1.1/4, so once you have R3 you can find R4 by doubling the offset. The same trick works for S3 and S4 on the downside.

Worked Example: Camarilla Pivots on the Nifty

Let us replace vague numbers with a realistic Nifty session. Assume yesterday the Nifty 50 spot index printed a high of 23,650, a low of 23,420 and a close of 23,510. The range (High minus Low) is 230 points. These are illustrative levels chosen to be realistic for the index, not a forecast. Plugging into the formulas gives the eight levels for today.

The fictional S3 and R3 round to 23,447 and 23,573. Their unrounded gap is 126.50 points. These levels describe the previous range; they do not establish a quiet-day bounce or trend.

A Separate Fictional Option-Premium Example

For a separate fictional put trade, assume Nifty near 23,573 and a 23,550 weekly put bought at 68. This put is out of the money, since the strike is below the index. Assume a quantity of 65 option units; these are example inputs, not a live contract quote.

In the fictional scenario, assume Nifty later reaches 23,447 and the 23,550 put, labelled PE, is quoted at 104. That option quote is an independent assumption. The premium gain is 104 minus 68 = 36 points; 36 x 65 = Rs 2,340 gross. Charges still need to be deducted.

The fictional gross gain is Rs 2,340. Sale STT and the actual remaining charges must still be deducted. A later option quote of 104 is independently assumed; reaching an index pivot does not determine that premium.

A Bank Nifty Variation

In a separate fictional Bank Nifty session, assume high 51,200, low 50,750 and close 50,980. Range is 450 points. R3 is 51,103.75; S3 is 50,856.25; R4 is 51,227.50; S4 is 50,732.50. The inner width is 247.50 points. That wider band follows the assumed inputs, not a universal ranking of index risk.

For a separate fictional 30-unit option position, a 60-rupee premium increase gives 60 x 30 = Rs 1,800 gross. Option-chain open interest alone cannot identify fresh call writing or prove resistance.

Reading Today's Levels Against Yesterday's

A common question is what it means when yesterday's levels sit entirely below (or above) today's. Because each day's levels are built from the previous session's close, a big move between two closes shifts the whole ladder. Comparing the two ladders shows how far the range has moved. It does not say what happens next.

Take the fictional Bank Nifty session above, where R3 was 51,103.75 and R4 was 51,227.50. Now assume the next session prints a high of 52,000, a low of 51,600 and a close of 51,900. The range is 400 points, so the new S3 is 51,900 - 400 x 1.1/4 = 51,790. Yesterday's R4 (51,227.50) and R3 (51,103.75) both sit below today's S3, a gap of 562.50 points (51,790 - 51,227.50).

How to read this without over-reading it:

• The two ladders do not overlap. Price closed far from where the old levels were, so the old R3 and R4 are no longer near the action. Old levels can still matter as places other traders remember, but the formula gives them no special weight.
• Mark the gap as a fact in your notes (for example, 'Day 2 S3 is above Day 1 R4') and record how price behaved at the new levels. After a number of such days you can check whether this pattern ever changed your results.
• If price opens beyond the new R4 or S4, a fade rule that assumes a return to the range is already tested at the open. Decide before the session whether you skip such days.
• A narrower range on Day 2 (400 against 450 here) makes the new ladder tighter, so the same point move crosses more levels.

If one ladder overlaps the other, for example today's S3 is close to yesterday's R3, the overlap is just two calculated numbers near each other. It is a reason to write the level down once, not evidence that it will hold. You can also compare against the standard method on the standard pivot points page to see where the two methods disagree.

Fade Trades Versus Breakout Trades

One example method evaluates fades at R3/S3, using R4/S4 as farther invalidation references. A different method waits for a completed break beyond R4/S4. A break of R3/S3 alone does not establish a trend day. These are choices to define and evaluate, not rules built into the pivot formula.

• Range assumption: define and evaluate the exact fade rule.
• Trend assumption: record failed breakouts too.
• Gap: opening beyond a pivot does not guarantee a trend day.
• Expiry: check the actual contract and premium risks.

Camarilla Levels on a Single Stock: A Made-Up Example

People often search for how to use the method on a large stock such as Reliance or HDFC Bank. The formula is the same as for an index: it needs the previous session's high, low and close from one consistent price series. The numbers below are for a made-up stock called EXAMPLE and are not a quote for any listed company.

Assume EXAMPLE had a high of 1,520, a low of 1,480 and a close of 1,500 yesterday. The range is 40. The offset for R3 and S3 is 40 x 1.1/4 = 11, so R3 = 1,511 and S3 = 1,489. The offset for R4 and S4 is 40 x 1.1/2 = 22, so R4 = 1,522 and S4 = 1,478.

• Share prices move in small ticks, so a 22-point R4 offset on a price near 1,500 is about 1.5% of the close. Compare that with your usual stop distance before using it.
• Cash-segment shares have no lot. You trade any whole number of shares, while a stock future or option uses the lot size set by NSE. Lot sizes change, so read the current one from the NSE contract list and do not copy an old number.
• Check whether a dividend, split or bonus happened. Corporate actions adjust prices, and the previous close on your chart may not match the one you used for the levels.
• A thinly traded stock can jump across several levels in one trade, so fade rules suit liquid names better. This is a practical note, not a measured result.

Combining Camarilla With Confirmation

Price action and momentum can supply extra context, but indicators based on related prices are not independent proof. Record each condition before judging outcomes.

• Record the exact rejection or breakout condition.
• Inspect volume on the actual traded instrument.
• Open interest alone cannot prove a turning point.
• Compare higher-timeframe support without a probability claim.
• Keep the actual execution and planned invalidation.

Daily, Weekly and Monthly Camarilla Levels

The formula only needs a high, a low and a close, so you can feed it any completed period. Using the previous week's high, low and close gives weekly levels. Using the previous month gives monthly levels. A longer period gives a wider range and so wider levels.

For a fictional week with a Nifty high of 23,900, a low of 23,300 and a close of 23,600, the range is 600 and the weekly R3 is 23,600 + 600 x 1.1/4 = 23,765. A daily R3 near the same area would be a number you can mark once. Whether two levels from different periods agree is for you to record and test, not a built-in signal.

How to Log a Camarilla Trade in a Journal

A pivot method is only useful if you can see afterwards how it behaved. OneTradeJournal is a manual journal: you enter each trade yourself. For each trade you can record the strategy name (for example, 'Camarilla R3 fade'), the stop and target, any mistake or plan deviation, your emotions and a free-text note about which level was touched. Its reports then group results by strategy and time, so you can compare fade trades with breakout trades over your own sample. It does not supply levels or market data, so calculate the levels first and note them in the trade.

A simple journal row for the Bank Nifty example might read: level R3 (51,103.75), idea fade, stop beyond R4 (51,227.50), planned exit at the close. Writing the rule down before the trade lets you mark any later change as a plan deviation.

On cost, remember that a Bank Nifty option lot is 30 units. For a fictional premium that rises from 120 to 150, the gross gain is (150 - 120) x 30 = Rs 900. Sale STT at 0.15% on 150 x 30 = Rs 4,500 is Rs 6.75, before brokerage and the other charges. See the charges log for the current rates.

Risk Management and Position Sizing

An underlying pivot stop is different from an option-premium stop. Futures distance times units gives planned price risk; index distance times option quantity does not give the option loss.

For a fictional sizing check, assume Rs 500,000 capital and a chosen 1% budget, or Rs 5,000. An independently assumed 40-point option-premium stop across 65 units gives Rs 2,600 planned price risk before charges. Record the levels in a trading plan alongside support and resistance. The stop does not guarantee a loss cap.

Limitations, False Signals and When To Skip

Events or changes in trading conditions can carry price through several pivots. A fade, breakout or skip rule can all fail. The formula supplies reference levels; it does not measure their predictive accuracy or establish that every event-day fade loses.

Whipsaws can occur near any calculated level. A waiting rule changes entry conditions; no fixed opening window is asserted to have a measured reliability ranking.

• Events: record whether a consistently defined event filter applies.
• Waiting rule: the example can evaluate a completed 15-minute candle; it can still fail.
• Liquidity: sparse trading can make the input range and execution harder to interpret.
• Risk: record the intended exit and a possible worse execution.
• Price basis: check corporate actions and settlement adjustments before comparing levels.

Compare the input price basis before comparing platforms. Different sessions, close definitions and contract series can produce different pivots even when each formula is applied correctly.

Sources

• TradingView: Camarilla formulas and price basis (checked 16 Oct 2026)
• NSE: STT revision (checked 16 Oct 2026)
• NSE Clearing: STT valuation basis (checked 16 Oct 2026)