Rubber Band Man

The Option Pit VIX Traffic Light Is Yellow: Volatility is likely to move wildly.


Hey Traders,


By any stretch of the imagination, Tuesday was an inside day.


From high to low, the S&P 500 had about a 22 point range.


But that doesn’t tell the whole story …


The S&P 500 actually looked like it wanted to take off until the final few minutes of the day.


At which point it died incredibly fast:



The market worked all day to rally and then gave up in a few minutes – proof the rally was built on algos, not real buying.


The point is Tuesday’s movement did not involve people.


But you know what does? 


CPI expectation!


CPI is why the algo’s let go of the rally they pressed so hard to make happen.


While the IV is certainly juicier for Wednesday than it was on Tuesday, the expectations are still relatively light.



SPX is pricing in about a 39-point move.


That’s less than 1%.


The pricing seems low, and it’s a sign that an out-of-bounds number could cause chaos in the market.


I would be looking to play that out-of-bounds move today. It’s been way too long since we had one.


We open down decently, play for something big – a rally,  same deal.


As I keep saying … options seem way too cheap.


Questions about that? Comment below!


Your Only Option,


Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian is a former member of both the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), where he spent years mastering the art of options trading in the most competitive environment imaginable. As Chief Investment Officer at the hedge fund Karman Line Capital, Mark manages sophisticated options strategies for institutional clients. He is the author of two highly regarded books on options trading: ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ and ‘Trading Options for Edge.’ Mark is a frequent guest on major financial networks including CNBC, Fox Business News, Bloomberg, and First Business News, where he provides expert commentary on market volatility and options strategies.

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About the Author

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Former CBOE floor trader and CIO at Karman Line Capital. Author of ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ with over 30 years of options trading experience.

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