The Option Block

Trading Block: Goldman Sachs sees best time in two decades to buy S&P 500 calls. Traders are betting the Federal Reserve will next raise U.S. short-term interest rates about six weeks earlier than previously thought, after the government reported U.S. employers added many more jobs than expected in February. Earnings today after the bell: Shake Shack. Odd Block: Calls trade in Alcoa Inc. (AA), put...

Trading Block: Continued relief rally. VIX now has a 16-handle. Huge contango in the VIX. Who blew the all-clear signal? Cage match in junk stocks. CBOE reported that total trading volume in February was 92.9 million contracts. OCC announces cleared contract volume increased in February. OCC announced that total cleared contract volume in February was 338,300,969 contracts. . Why CME would want to...

Trading Block: Traders are now taking the possibility of a Trump presidency seriously. What was once thought to be a flight of fancy is moving ever closer to becoming reality, with one of the real estate moguls rivals, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, declaring that Trump may be "unstoppable" if he dominates the upcoming Super Tuesday contests. Gold allure burnished by Fed outlook as treasuries lag: analys...

Trading Block: Gold goes for a ride. SeaWorld earnings today after the bell and taking it on the chin. Off approx. 9%. Odd Block: Calls and puts go up in Restoration Hardware Inc. (RH), call spreads go up in Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC), and puts go up in Cypress Semiconductors (CY). Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from Matt M1000 - Hello Mr. Longo and All Star Cast. I have...

Trading Block: Options market sees 50% chance of massive S&P plunge. Stocks may have rebounded from their recent lows, but the option market still implies a big chance that stocks plummet anew before the year is out. Earnings today after the bell: Fitbit, Inc., ATM Straddle: $2.90 - 18.3%, calls 2/1 over puts; stock nearly hit $52 last summer: Now a pale shadow of what it used to be. Earnings toda...

Trading Block: Welcome to our 500th episode. Today's special panel includes: Mark Sebastian, Mike Tosaw, Andrew Giovanazzi, and our must beloved former panelist Alex "The Viceroy" Jacobson. They discuss: How many exchanges are too many exchanges? Options Insider question of the week The SEC Citadel Transaction fees Talking free of compliance issues And so much more... Odd Block: Rolling calls in C...

Trading Block: TSLA: Options traders are betting on a 16% move in Tesla shares in either direction through the end of the week. Four of the five most traded Tesla options on Wednesday were put options, but it was not clear whether investors were buying or selling them. It has been a rough year for Elon Musk - off $3.3B between TSLA and SCTY. Earnings today: Before the bell: Nokia, PepsiCo, After t...

Trading Block: Stocks take another beating: Dow down 400. Gold tops $1,200 for first time since June on economic woes. Earnings today after the bell: Yelp - $16.17, down nearly $2 - over 10%; Before the bell: Hasbro, Loews Odd Block: Calls trade in Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), calls trade in Goldcorp Inc. (GG), calls trade in iShares MSCI EAFE Index fund (EFA), and calls and puts trades i...

Trading Block: Today we have guest co-host Dan Cook from NADEX. LNKD after the bell. ATM straddle: $22, approx. 11.5%. Wall St. fluctuates as equities track oil prices. Is oil driving the stock market - and should traders care? As energy rout deepens, CME, ICE reap benefit from record volumes. Earnings today - Before the bell: ConocoPhillips, Intercontinental Exchange. Odd Block: Calls trade in SP...

Trading Block: OCC announced total cleared contract volume for the month of January was up four percent from January 2015 with 371,870,087 contracts, marking the third highest January on record. CBOE announced that it plans to list S&P 500 Index (SPX) Wednesday - expiring Weeklys options beginning February 23, 2016. ISE Mercury to launch on February 16, 2016. Earnings today after the bell: Options...

Trading Block: Earnings! Ford Alibaba Amazon - rocking and rolling! Odd Block: Calls trade in ICICI Bank Ltd (IBN), calls trade in Abbott Laboratories (ABT), and call buyers in JA Solar Holding Co. (JASO) Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from BillyMo - Hey, any new updates with after hours options trading on earnings stocks? Question from NVid - The junk bond market is melting...

Trading Block: Earnings today before the bell Hess Corp. ConocoPhillips fell at least 6.1 percent. Banks retraced their best rally in more than a month Friday, with Bank of America Corp. down 3.1 percent. McDonalds Corp. gained after the fast-food giant earnings beat analysts forecasts as all-day breakfast helped fuel U.S. sales. The Fed begins a two-day meeting tomorrow. The probability of a rate...

Trading Block: Stocks rebound as Dow up more than 200 points and oil jumps 5%. Wall Street pay takes a hit, braces for deeper cuts. Yellen to keep Fed rate options open amid turbulent markets. Earnings today (Thursday): Before the bell: Southwest Airlines, Verizon Communications After the bell: American Express Company, E-Trade Financial Corporation Odd Block: Calls trade in NewCastle Investment C...

Trading Block: U.S. stocks rally from 3-Month lows as energy, healthcare lead. Goldman plans to cut up to 10% of fixed-income traders, salespeople. Before the bell: JP Morgan Chase. What crisis? JPMorgan Chase reports $5.4 billion profit. After the bell: Intel Corporation. ATM Straddle - $1.45, ADV 72K contracts, today: 115K. Odd Block: Puts trade in Fiat Chrysler Auto NV (FCAU), calls trade in KK...

Trading Block: Last week was the worst start to a trading year in history. An early rally lost steam later in the session. Intra day S&P high - 1935. Does the lack of IPOs signal a looming recession? Fear makes oil options increasingly expensive. Odd Block: 1-by-2 call spread in The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), buy to close short in Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA), and bullish risk reversal in Powersha...

Trading Block: Hysterics are creeping back into the market in the New Year. This question seems to be popping up all over the place this week. Is this 2008 all over again? Chinas 29 minutes of chaos: stunned brokers and a race to sell. Apple Inc. said App Store billings topped a record $20 billion in 2015, but growth from the business appeared to slow even as the company introduced apps on new dev...

Trading Block: OCC 2015 cleared contract volume third highest ever at 4.2B. Options traders adding to bullish bets on Europe stocks for 2016. Stocks plunge as Dow tumbles about 420; S&P falls below 2,000. Odd Block “Best of” 2015: Weird trade of the year - 11/30/15 - Put rolls and calls going up in Ascena Retail Group Inc (ASNA) Loser of the year - 6/1/15 - Possible upside Anadarko Petroleum Corp....

Originally posted on December 24th, 2014, we bring you "The Most Epic Strategy Block Ever" Trading Block: A shortened holiday week, so not much is moving on the street. Upside move in Taser. Facebook and Amazon. Odd Block: Calls trade in Cobalt International Energy (CIE), opening calls trade in U.S. Bancorp (USB), and calls going up in Alibaba Holding Group Ltd (BABA). Xpress Block: Another new to...

Trading Block: The S&P 500 surged 2.8 percent last week, buoyed by gains in oil and raw-material companies, some of the year’s least-loved stocks. VIX jumped 14 percent Monday to 17.91. Oil led an early retreat among commodities Monday, sliding more than 3 percent from a three-week high as Iran repeated its goal of boosting exports after sanctions on the country are lifted. Odd Block: Calls tradin...

Originally published on August 25, 2015, this episode focused on the biggest single point drop ever in the DJIA. Also, chicken little was referenced. Trading Block: The DJIA briefly slumped more than 1,000 points, its biggest point-drop ever. VIX Cash hit 53.29 at 10am. The VIX jumped as much as 90 percent to 53.29, its highest since January 2009. VIX didn’t update for 30 minutes as options quotes...

Trading Block: The Force is not strong with Disney. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” had a record-breaking $238 million opening weekend at box offices in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to a near-record $279 million overseas, but DIS was off 2% today and off nearly $10 since the movie launched on Thursday. Dow sets mark for most volatile December since 2008. Wall St. slides on lower crude prices, s...

This week, we are digging through the archives to bring you highlights from the Option Block catalog. First up, a look back at a live raucous show, taped in July, 2012. Remember when AAPL was at $600? Mini contracts. AAPL vs. Samsung. And more...

Trading Block: Crude oil futures fell to seven-year lows - below $35. VIX: On Friday, it was up 28 percent at 24.72. Volatility the surest bet in stocks after Fed meets. Three U.S. fund sectors fear SEC proposal on derivatives may hurt ETFs. Odd Block: Buying vertical call spreads in Console Energy (CNX), upside call purchase in Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD (RDL), selling June 37 puts in Mondale In...

Trading Block: Oil was down, but energy stocks seemed to drive the market upward. Natural gas down around $2 level today. Odd Block: Call buyers in SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), call buyers in Whole Food Market (WFM), and calls trade in Mens Warehouse (MW) Around the Block: What will the Fed do?

Trading Block: There is an even weirder thing happening in financial markets. SEC to crack down on derivatives. Oil tumbles to six-year low as OPEC abandons production target. Odd Block: Calls trade in JP Morgan Alerian MLP index (AMJ), calls trade in SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), and calls trade in Sunedison Inc. (SUNE) Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses a different way to execute a stock repai...