A VIX skew slide, an unchanged volatility surface and negative forward gamma explain why this tech-led rally looks transient to options traders.
FOMC
FOMC Preview: A Fed Pause Meets a Fragile Options Market
The Fed is widely expected to stand pat this Wednesday, but the options market is pricing anything but a quiet week.
Dip Buyers Step into the AI Unwind
Will the Selloff Continue? The market began to waver at the end of last week, with the S&P 500 down nearly 2% and Nasdaq dropping 3% from mid-week highs. We noted a spike in MAGS put buying and a rising put/call ratio in our previous Sunday Newsletter as big tech earnings approached. Then, our October […]
FOMC Preview: The Hike Is Priced. The Dots Aren’t.
A 25bp hike is overwhelmingly expected on September 16, which makes the dot plot the real surprise vector. A look at what the options market is pricing, where the big volatility hedges are showing up, why September VIX settles before the decision, and why Friday’s expiration may be the bigger structural event.
Gamma Guy: S&P 500 Realized Volatility Is the Lowest Since 2020
Brent Kochuba, founder of SpotGamma, joined tastylive Tuesday to explain why S&P 500 realized volatility sits at 2020 lows ahead of FOMC and a huge OPEX.
CPI Is the Catalyst. 7600 Is the Trade.
Markets are pricing a roughly 70% chance of a rate hike at the September 16 FOMC, and August CPI is the last inflation print the Fed sees before deciding. A look at what the option market is implying, the gamma setup into Friday’s expiration, and the three scenarios that matter.
Jackson Hole 2026: What the Options Market Expects
SPY forward IV prices Jackson Hole as a non-event, but CTAs are stretched short Treasuries and SPX gamma flips near 7780 — an asymmetric setup into Friday.
Vol Sellers Shrug off a Hawkish Fed
Despite a hawkish Fed rattling equities midweek, the market easily and quickly retraced any lost ground by Thursday. With June OPEX now behind us and implied volatility reset toward recent lows, there is a soft feeling of “what’s next?” for the S&P 500 until earnings season ramps up next month. The June FOMC meeting on […]
Triple Witching + FOMC Fuels Volatility Risk
The market delivered several volatile sessions last week as traders navigated Wednesday’s CPI inflation report, Friday’s massive SpaceX IPO (SPCX), and a mix of Iran-driven headlines throughout. Last Sunday, we wrote about how extreme options positioning into major catalysts could spark the exact volatile market behavior observed over the past several days. Tuesday’s wild 200-point […]
How One Key Level Drove Last Week’s Rally
The S&P 500 bounced back 2% last week after scraping against 6-month lows. Mixed headlines on the Iran conflict explained much of this tug-of-war, yet markets are still holding their breath. For many traders, the rally felt counterintuitive: How can equities rally so furiously if geopolitical uncertainties remain unresolved? When looking at Tuesday’s major bounce in […]