Same day options now set the market's mood.
What Changed? | The market can trade like it has "learned something" even when nothing new arrives. A sharp midday drop reads like a growth scare. A late rally looks like a dovish pivot. Then you check rates, credit, and the data calendar—and the macro picture is basically unchanged. | The quiet shift is structural. Zero day to expiry options—0DTE—have become a dominant way to express short term views in the S&P 500. That matters because the market makers on the other side of those trades hedge dynamically, often by trading futures or the index itself. So intraday price action increasingly reflects positioning and hedging mechanics rather than fresh information about inflation, growth, or earnings. | | Everyone Thought He Was Insane…
Satellite giant EchoStar just sold off a block of radio frequencies to Elon Musk's SpaceX for a jaw-dropping $17 billion. | To most investors, it looked like another headline in the crowded 5G race. | But to legendary tech investor Jeff Brown it was something else entirely: | A signal. | One that confirms a thesis he's been writing about for years… | That SpaceX isn't just a rocket company. | It's quietly positioning itself to become America's next great mobile network operator. | If he's right… this could be the final "tell" before Musk unleashes what may become the second $10 trillion company in history. | And the opportunity is massive for those who know how to position themselves now. | That's the real story the mainstream press isn't telling you. | In light of this recent news, Jeff has issued an urgent briefing. | Click here to watch it now. | | The Numbers | In Q3 2025, Cboe reported SPX average daily options volume of about 3.8 million contracts—2.15 million, or 57%, were 0DTE. In November 2025, Cboe reported a record SPX 0DTE average daily volume of 2.8 million contracts. The BIS noted 0DTE SPX options exceeded 50% of SPX options trading volume in August 2023, up from about 5% in 2016. Bank of England staff analysis has warned that rapid growth in zero day options can interact with liquidity and, in some scenarios, amplify instability.
| | Why It Matters | 0DTE options compress time—and that compresses decision making. As the index moves, dealer hedges can flip quickly from dampening volatility to amplifying it, depending on where large strikes sit and whether dealers are effectively "long gamma" or "short gamma." The tape can look calm until a level breaks, then the same mechanics can accelerate the move into the close. | That's where investors misread the signal. A two hour selloff can feel like macro deterioration when it is really a microstructure event—positioning colliding with thin liquidity. The danger is behavioral: treating mechanical moves as narrative confirmation and adjusting risk at the wrong moment. | The portfolio implication is less about trading 0DTE and more about filtering it. If the day's action isn't reinforced by a broader move in rates, credit spreads, or earnings revisions, it is often safer to treat the intraday drama as path noise, not a new destination. In this environment, the close tends to be more informative than the midday swing. | | Will Your Retirement Income Last? | | A successful retirement can depend on having a clear plan. Fisher Investments' The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income can help you calculate your future costs and structure your portfolio to meet your needs. Get the insights you need to help build a durable income strategy for the long term. | Download Your Free Guide | | Takeaway | Macro still drives markets over time, but microstructure increasingly drives the journey. When the tape lies, the edge comes from separating information from mechanics—and refusing to let intraday whiplash write your macro story. | | Sources | Cboe Global Markets, December 2025 https://ir.cboe.com/news/news-details/2025/Cboe-Global-Markets-Reports-Trading-Volume-for-November-2025/default.aspx | Cboe, October 2025 https://www.cboe.com/insights/posts/the-state-of-the-options-industry-quarter-three-2025/ | Bank for International Settlements, March 2024 https://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt2403x.htm | Bank of England Bank Underground, December 2024 https://bankunderground.co.uk/2024/12/04/zero-day-options-and-financial-market-vulnerability/ | | |
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