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Commentary

Daily Brief For April 26, 2023

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Morning, team. The detailed 11-page context and trade structuring report on better-protecting investments in 2023 and beyond was published. You can access it below:

If you do read it, please consider providing me with some feedback below:

https://forms.gle/82jBsN6H4qVoeU5m8

Separately, over the next few days, the Daily Brief newsletter will be ultra-brief, and only the levels will be updated.

Thanks for understanding, and I hope you got some value out of that report in the meantime! Stay well.


About

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.

Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

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Commentary

Report: Investing In A High Rate World

Context And Structuring

An optimal portfolio may have fewer stocks and more cash, bonds, commodities, and volatility. Given the uncertainty and high-interest rates, investors can protect their initial investment by allocating a substantial portion of their principal to lower-risk assets and a smaller amount to risky assets with leverage potential.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For April 24, 2023

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Short letter today. Got to catch a flight!

Last week, we discussed the recent response to the bank issues cutting risks for the S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX). Volatility and correlations fell as time passed, and this helped contain the market. Though last week’s options expiration (OpEx) may free markets up, we maintain that the SPX may stay contained longer before it weakens.

Graphic: Retrieved from SqueezeMetrics. “Monthly OpEx just shaved off nearly $300mm per point in SPX dealer gamma exposure. That means index liquidity has lost quite a bit of depth going into next week.”

Catalysts for weakness include falling earnings growth and a debt-ceiling crisis that’s driven T-bill yields lower from surging demand; a failure by Congress to raise the limit on how much the government can borrow may disrupt funding markets, WSJ reports.

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg.

Let’s limit our expectations and focus on low- or zero-cost call structures (e.g., bull call ratio) monetized to finance longer-dated put structures (e.g., bear put vertical) while allocating a chunk of our portfolio to near-risk-free yield-harvesting structures (e.g., box spread), mainly if you are a portfolio margin trader.

As I explained to a subscriber over the weekend, for boxes, the greatest possible loss across a range of prices is negligible. Hence, buying power is unaffected in trading a box. Consequently, using portfolio margin and trading boxes, you have more buying power to allocate to other trades that are margin (and not debit) intensive, such as synthetic long stock (i.e., purchase ATM call and sell ATM put). Using options, among other derivatives, enables us to stack returns on each other.

Here’s one example.

We can trade box spreads expiring at the end of June. We buy the $4,000/$5,000 call spread for $22,365.00 and simultaneously buy the $5,000/$4,000 put spread for $76,620. This trade costs $98,985.00, and by lending this amount (on April 21, 2023), you will receive $1,015.00 upon maturity. Yes, you will have $99,000.00 cash tied up, but you should be able to use $99,000.00 in buying power in other trades if you have that portfolio margin component which is so important.

If this action-oriented letter is valuable to you, consider sharing it with others.

See you later!


About

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.

Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For April 19, 2023

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Big news includes Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) beating earnings estimates but having a weaker-than-expected forecast, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) cutting prices the sixth time this year, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) and Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) commencing layoffs, and mortgage rates edging higher to ~6.4%.

US Mortgage Rate Climbs by Most in Two Months | Increase in 30-year fixed rate ended string of five weekly declines
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg. “US mortgage rates increased last week by the most in two months to 6.43%, denting already sluggish demand.”

Equity markets are down, and equity implied volatility (IVOL) measures, including the Cboe Volatility Index or VIX, are climbing. Notwithstanding, the trend lower in IVOL is intact, and that’s good for traders biased short volatility.

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg via Danny Kirsch of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR). Call option volatility for the $4,150.00 strike. May monthly expiration.

“With all the focus [on S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX)] 0 DTE lately, I look at how expensive these have been since 2022,” IPS Strategic Capital’s Pat Hennessy says, referencing a backtest he conducted selling a 1 DTE straddle and holding till maturity.

“Performance since the November CPI has been stellar, with a 63% win rate and an average gain of $20.00.”

Graphic: Retrieved from IPS Strategic Capital’s Pat Hennessy.

Volatility trader Darrin John agrees, noting volatility remains expensive, a detriment to those who may be biased long volatility.

“The VRP is so wide across all of the tenors I track,” John elaborates. “It’s going to be hard for gamma buyers to cover daily theta bills.”

Clouds are appearing on the horizon, however, and the trend higher (lower) in stocks (volatility) may not last. Bloomberg forecasts the largest fall in SPX earnings since the start of 2020. Notwithstanding, strength can continue for longer …

Graphic: Retrieved from Citigroup Inc Research (NYSE: C) via @tr8derz. “YTD rally stems from $1tn in CB liquidity. High-frequency indicators suggest this is already stalling, and coming weeks seem increasingly likely to bring a sharp reversal. Higher TGA and RRP, ECB QT and reduced China easing could easily see a net drain of some $6-800bn.”

… even with the SPX breadth reading poor. The SPX has rallied with multiples rising; strength came with positive earnings surprises, bond demand, and other things.

Graphic: Retrieved from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) via Bloomberg.

Hence, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the low-cost call structures we’ve talked about in the past remain attractive.

If markets move higher, you can monetize and roll profits into put spreads (i.e., buy put and sell another at a lower strike). This may work well if JPMorgan Chase & Co’s (NYSE: JPM) call that “even a mild recession would warrant retesting the previous lows” is realized.

Such structures work well as “a big pop in the market can result in a decent drop in the VIX…and vice versa, a market sell-off will result in a greater increase in the VIX now than it did in 2022,” says Alpha Exchange.

Alternatively, lean neutral and buy into cash or bonds yielding 4-5%. Some long box spreads yield 5.4% as of yesterday’s close.

In other news, Physik Invest’s first in-depth note is nearing completion and will be available for public viewing in short order. Take care and watch your risk!


About

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.

Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For April 17, 2023

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Inflation and employment rates remain high. Additionally, consumers show resilience, and earnings are strong. As a consequence, markets are back to pricing higher rates for longer. This is a pressure on bonds and stocks which appear “overvalued relative to coming bad news on both economic growth and corporate earnings.”

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg via @Marcomadness2. Hedge funds are net short 2Y and SOFR futures.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) says stocks are at risk of a pullback, accordingly.

Graphic: Retrieved from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) via The Market Ear. The indexes have front-run the pause and pivot; Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) data suggests a statistically significant disconnect between the Nasdaq 100 (INDEX: NDX) and yield.

With the percentage of stocks outperforming the S&P 500 the lowest on record, MS added, a slump in technology is the big risk if yields continue to rise; the bear market is not yet over. “If there is one thing that can throw cold water on the large mega-cap rally, it’s higher yields due to a Fed that can’t stop hiking.”

Graphic: Retrieved from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) via Bloomberg.

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) expects a “0.25-percentage point increase to the fed funds rate when the FOMC reconvenes in early May.” Following this hike, there is likely to be a pause at a 5.00-5.25% terminal rate for a few months.

Graphic: Retrieved from CME Group Inc’s (NASDAQ: CME) FedWatch Tool.

From a positioning perspective, Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan stated that in the past 6-9 months, there has been a significant increase in the volume of options with zero days to expiration (0 DTE), which now accounts for 44% of the total volume. This increase in short-dated options volume has been accompanied by a similarly sized decrease in longer-dated options volume.

Further, the majority of trading activity in these short-dated options is split between hedging and directional trading, as well as yield harvesting via out-of-the-money (OTM) options sales. Though the short-dated activity may prompt cascading events in market downturns, the main issue is the reduced use of longer-dated options; a supply and demand imbalance likely resolves itself with an implied volatility repricing of great size where longer-dated options outperform those that are shorter-dated.

Traders can look to position for a potential IVOL repricing, particularly in the back half of the year when dealer positioning is less clear, buybacks are to fall off of a cliff, and the boost from short-covering has played its course.

Traders can continue to play near-term strength via call spread structures and use those profits to reduce the costs of owning longer-dated bets on markets or rates falling and IVOL increasing. If not interested in directional exposure, traders may allocate funds to T-bills and SPX box spreads which allow traders to create a loan structure similar to a T-bill. If savvy, one could find some structures yielding ~5.5%. Traders can also consider blending T-bills and boxes with directional exposure. This way, they can cut portfolio volatility but still have a bit of leverage potential. Please check out our past letters for trade structure specifics. Have a great day!

About

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.

Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For April 12, 2023

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Short, low-alpha letter. We are working on an in-depth write-up detailing what trades to take and why they are optimal. Enjoy your day, and keep risk in check.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) warns the S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX) could drop upwards of 2% if the consumer price index (CPI) comes in hot.

Graphic: Retrieved from Sergei Perfiliev.

If year-over-year inflation exceeds the previous reading of 6.00%, stocks will likely fall ~2%; Tier1Alpha suggests “we could see between $4 to $7 billion of equities sold off, as … funds will have to de-risk their portfolio.”

If year-over-year inflation meets the consensus of 5.10%, stocks will likely rise; from an options positioning perspective, if fears are assuaged, and traders supply their bets on or hedges against the market direction (i.e., vol falls), this may indirectly add support.

Graphic: Retrieved from SqueezeMetrics. Dealer hedges with the underlying (i.e., stock or future).

CPI and Federal Reserve meeting minutes could clarify how much more policymakers have to go to rein inflation.

Based on the data and policy response, the consensus is that the economy is already entering a recession; GS warns that recession may manifest a spike in volatility during the rest of 2023, Bloomberg reports, noting they prefer hedging equity declines with put spreads (i.e., buy put, sell put below it) and collars (i.e., own stock and sell call to finance put spread). We wonder who has been saying the same thing for weeks.


About

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. You can learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.

Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view the content calendar at this link.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For April 11, 2023

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The narrative yesterday was bearish

A big deal was made surrounding some data that shows investors increasing their bets on US equities falling; net short positions in the E-mini S&P 500 (FUTURE: /ES) are the highest since 2011, Bloomberg reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) concur as their data shows clients betting on stocks falling or reducing stock exposure quickly.

This is happening in the context of some mixed, albeit still robust-leaning, data; payrolls upped bets that the Federal Reserve or Fed would move its target rate to 5.00-5.25%. GS’ Bobby Molavi adds, “the prevalent view seems to be that more things will break on the back of rapid rise in cost of capital.”

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg

In light of the rate expectations, the Nasdaq 100 (INDEX: NDX) appears to be handing over the leadership baton to the S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX), though both indexes remain primarily intact and coiling; the fundamental-type pressures are balanced by follow-on support from those actors that base their decisions on such things as the amount a market moves (i.e., realized volatility or RVOL), says Tier1Alpha and SpotGamma.

Graphic: Retrieved from Tier1Alpha.

The two providers of market insights see falling implied (IVOL) and RVOL as catalysts for buying stocks. This, coupled with the hedging of soon-to-expire large options open interest, particularly on the put side, in a lower liquidity environment, supports the indexes while underlying breadth and correlations are underwhelming.

A large concentration of put open interest near current prices is pictured just below. The eventual removal of this put-heavy positioning will reduce some directional risks to options counterparts; as puts disappear or decline in value, their delta or exposure to direction does too. If a counterparty is short a put and has less positive delta to hedge, they may buy back some of their short-delta exposure in the underlying index, a catalyst for higher S&P 500 prices.

Graphic: Retrieved from SpotGamma.

A large open interest concentration set to roll off this April is pictured just below.

Retrieved from SpotGamma.

This has happened before. Newfound Research explains it best in their paper titled “Liquidity Cascades: The Coordinated Risk of Uncoordinated Market Participants.”

In keeping the indexes and their underlying idiosyncratic baskets in line via arbitrage constraints, while there is a build-up of suppressive and supportive dealer hedging at the index level, “then the only reconciliation is a decline in correlation.”

In this context, Tier1Alpha explains, “lower correlations tend to lead to lower volatility … giv[ing] volatility control funds the go-ahead to augment their risk exposure, with an estimated $14 billion in equities purchases … to be spread out in blocks.”

Consequently, in line with our thesis that positioning and technical contexts support near-term strength, it still makes sense to take the profits of very wide, albeit low- or zero-cost, call ratio spread structures discussed in past letters to cut the cost of our bets on the equity market downside and lower rates with more time to expiry. Should the indexes trade higher, SpotGamma agrees with Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan that volatility could be sticky.

Hence, call structures could keep their value better and enable us to lower the cost of our bets on the market downside. If the fundamental context supporting the rotation of call option profits into puts is no longer valid, then the losses on such trades are limited; the money is made in not losing it.

Graphic: Retrieved from SpotGamma’s Weekend Note.

Not doing as outlined and blindly buying put options to protect long equity exposure is generally a poor-performing strategy, despite the performance claims of some funds specializing in that practice.

Graphic: Retrieved from QVR Advisors via Bloomberg. “Buying puts is a money-losing proposition when considered in isolation. Chart shows the performance of hedges rolled every quarter with delta hedging, as a percentage of notional amount protected.”

About

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.

Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For April 10, 2023

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US payroll data has increased the possibility of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve or Fed in early May, leading to higher rates and affecting those who expected a pause or pivot through poorly performing yield curve steepener trades. The market expects the Fed to raise its target rate to 5.00-5.25% and keep it there through mid-year.

Graphic: Retrieved from CME Group Inc’s (NASDAQ: CME) FedWatch Tool.

There is more to the pressure than just yields. Surveys indicate a drop in profits for sensitive areas of the equity market, such as technology and banks; as soon as the labor market starts softening, a credit crunch is expected to accelerate by some.

Graphic: Retrieved from the St. Louis Fed via Cubic Analytics.

Despite the turbulence from earnings, data suggests the S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX) may perform well through year-end. Historically, the full-year return was always positive when the S&P 500 had a positive first quarter. However, there have been exceptions, says Callum Thomas, quoting data gathered by Ryan Detrick.

Graphic: Retrieved from Ryan Detrick via Callum Thomas’ Weekly S&P 500 ChartStorm.

Peeking beneath the hood, only a few (primarily rate-sensitive) stocks have bolstered recent index strength; many components are not participating in the rally, which could be a harbinger of potential post-earnings weaknesses. 

Graphic: Retrieved from McClellan Financial Publications.

Notwithstanding, if rates continue to fall, so do borrowing costs; falling inflation cuts pressures on input cost; rising unemployment helps keep labor costs under control, Bloomberg reports. The forecasts (not surveys) actually show earnings holding up better than the narrative suggests.

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg.

So what, then? In an annual report, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) concludes that if “we have higher inflation for longer, the Fed may be forced to increase rates higher than people expect despite the recent bank crisis.” Compounding the rate hikes is quantitative tightening or QT, the process of a central bank reducing the amount of money it has injected into an economy by selling bonds or other financial assets, which “may have ongoing impacts that might, over time, be another force, pushing longer-term rates higher than currently envisioned.” The net effect, though insights gleaned from the curve may be muddied due to the scale of recent interventions, is an “inverted yield curve [implying] we are going into a recession” and lower credit creation because, as Sergei Perfiliev well puts it, “if capital ends with the Fed, it is dead – it has left the economy and the banking system.”

Graphic: Retrieved from Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) via TheMarketEar.

How do we position ourselves, given all these narratives? Equity volatility implied (IVOL) and realized (RVOL) decreased. This may continue to be a booster. In fact, “if markets remain within a +/-1.5% range, a drop in volatility could trigger significant buying activity from the vol-control space, with up to $14 billion in notional flows hitting the tape, creating a favorable environment for equities,” says Tier1Alpha.

Graphic: Retrieved from Tier1Alpha.

So, positioning-wise, stocks could trade up into a “more combustible” state where “volatility is sticky into a rally,” as Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan said would happen.

SpotGamma confirms that, based on current positioning, SPX IVOL is projected to move up as the underlying index moves up; there are likely many people chasing the rally with long calls, “creating a swelling of call skew.”

In this environment, very wide call ratio spread structures discussed in past letters may continue to do well. We can use the profits from those call structures to cut the cost of our bets on the equity market downside and lower interest rates.

Graphic: Retrieved from SpotGamma’s Weekend Note.

About

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.

Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For April 3, 2023

LOAD S&P 500 LEVELS ON TRADINGVIEW BY CLICKING HERE.

Administrative Bulletin

Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement. Take care, and let’s dig in.

Markets are mixed with equities under light pressure following OPEC+’s surprise oil production cut. It’s likely that Saudi Arabia “realized they were getting played [on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve refill] and took matters into their own hands,” some say.

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg.

As a recap, on Friday, measures of inflation abated. Though these measures remain high and support the context for rates to stay high, markets responded positively.

Expectations of interest rate cuts have been pulled forward based on markets like SOFR, correlated to existing money market rates, where traders’ demand for call options (i.e., bet on rates falling) reveals the fear of a heavy rate-cutting cycle.

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg via @countdraghula.

The S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX) closed above $4,100.00 for the first time in months. Many quickly wrote about new bull markets blooming in previously depressed market areas most sensitive to monetary policymakers’ policymaking.

Recall, however, that during the dot-com bust, the Nasdaq 100 (INDEX: NDX) rallied ~20% numerous times before an actual bull market was born. Experts think the same thing is happening; the rally, partly driven by monetary policy expectations and the removal/monetization of downside protection, particularly in markets where traders were most concerned about a de-rate and volatility, is probably in its later stages.

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg.

The marginal benefit of any further volatility compression is far less than the cost one may incur by volatility expanding; “there isn’t much juice left to squeeze,” SpotGamma adds, and though short-biased volatility trades (e.g., sell options) could work for a bit longer, the risks remain, as explained on Friday. Rolling profits from the initially low- or no-cost call options structures we discussed last week into fixed-risk debit equity put options structures seem attractive. More to come. Hope you liked the new format!

Disclaimer

Please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For March 31, 2023

Intrigued about what moves markets and economies and how that can impact your financial wellness? Subscribe to this free newsletter below!

Graphic updated 8:00 AM ET. Sentiment Neutral if expected /MES open is inside of the prior day’s range. /MES levels are derived from the profile graphic at the bottom of this letter. Click here for the latest levels. SqueezeMetrics Dark Pool Index (DIX) and Gamma (GEX) with the latter calculated based on where the prior day’s reading falls with respect to the MAX and MIN of all occurrences available. A higher DIX is bullish. The lower the GEX, the more (expected) volatility. Click to learn the implications of volatility, direction, and moneyness. Breadth reflects a reading of the prior day’s NYSE Advance/Decline indicator. The CBOE VIX Volatility Index (INDEX: VVIX) reflects the attractiveness of owning volatility. UMBS prices via MNDClick here for the economic calendar.

Administrative

Keeping it brief for today. Enjoy your Friday. Be opportunistic and watch your risk.

Positioning

For days prior, top-line measures of implied volatility or IVOL like the Cboe Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) fell, as did the Cboe VIX Volatility Index (INDEX: VVIX), the latter which is a way to gauge the expensiveness of IVOL or convexity. It was, in part, the resolution of a recent liquidity crisis that prompted this to happen. Under the hood, volatility skew told a different story; traders were hedging against tail outcomes. 

Graphic: Retrieved from Sergei Perfiliev.

Even so, this hedging and volatility skew behavior did little to boost the pricing of most spread structures above and below the market we analyzed. The non-stickiness of IVOL into this rally may have been detrimental to the more expensive call options structures, as we expected; hence, our consistent belief that structures should be kept at low- or no-cost.

The environment changed yesterday, however. Both top- and bottom-line measures of IVOL were sticky into equity market strength. This was observed via the pricing of spread structures (e.g., verticals and back- and ratio-spreads) structured above and below the market. The stickiness of volatility seemed to impact most the put side of the market. Some savvy traders may have been able to build spread structures below the market at a lesser cost potentially.

As an aside, some may have observed how well our levels have been working. For instance, as shown below (middle bottom), yesterday’s Daily Brief levels marked the session high and low for the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Index (FUTURE: /MES).

Graphic: Retrieved from TradingView.

Commentators online have rightly pointed out the build-up of short-dated options exposures near current market prices. In short, this activity, and its potential hedging, help promote mean-reversion and responsiveness at our volume profile-derived key levels, which often overlap with centers of significant options activity, as we see. Particularly after the quarterly options expiry (OpEx), this activity’s ability to contain markets will ease; markets will yield to fundamental strengths or weaknesses. Based on top-line measures of breadth and IVOL, “there isn’t much juice left to squeeze,” SpotGamma says. From an options positioning perspective, for volatility to reprice lower and solicit re-hedging that boosts the market, “we need a change in [the] volatility regime (i.e., soft landing, bank crisis resolved, etc.),” SpotGamma adds. The likelihood of that happening is low; some expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to stick to its original message and continue to tighten and withdraw liquidity. So, blindly selling options (colloquially referred to as volatility) in this environment is dangerous.

Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal.

Damped Spring’s Andy Constan overlays past and present inflation fights. What if?

Graphic: Retrieved from Andy Constan of Damped Spring Advisors.

Technical

As of 8:00 AM ET, Friday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET) in the S&P 500 will likely open in the middle part of a balanced overnight inventory, inside of the prior day’s range, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.

The S&P 500 pivot for today is $4,087.75. 

Key levels to the upside include $4,097.25, $4,108.75, and $4,121.25.

Key levels to the downside include $4,077.75, $4,062.25, and $4,049.75.

Disclaimer: Click here to load the updated key levels via the web-based TradingView platform. New links are produced daily. Quoted levels likely hold, barring an exogenous development.

Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures (bottom middle).

About

The author, Renato Leonard Capelj, spends the bulk of his time at Physik Invest, an entity through which he invests and publishes free daily analyses to thousands of subscribers. The analyses offer him and his subscribers a way to stay on the right side of the market. 

Separately, Capelj is an accredited journalist with past works, including interviews with investor Kevin O’Leary, ARK Invest’s Catherine Wood, FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Lithuania’s Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė, former Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers, and persons at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Connect

Direct queries to renato@physikinvest.com. Find Physik Invest on TwitterLinkedInFacebook, and Instagram. Find Capelj on TwitterLinkedIn, and Instagram. Only follow the verified profiles.

Calendar

You may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Disclaimer

Do not construe this newsletter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements for their work.