Markets entered last week on fragile footing. In our previous Sunday note, we emphasized how negative dealer gamma, extreme put skew, and heavy 0DTE options activity set the market up for a trapdoor scenario. This created a market structure vulnerable to sharp drops and spikes in volatility, as we saw play out last week. The dramatic […]
put skew
The Options Market Trapdoor
Over the past week, the topic of volatility has returned to the forefront. While the market has been largely range-bound, underlying support remains tenuous. Simultaneously, traders have begun more actively paying for downside protection. Given the backdrop of flaring geopolitical conflict, we see assymetric downside risk forming as trader uncertainty and negative gamma threaten to unlock the […]

