$DUST #ShortPuts – Sold DUST Jan 15 2016 10.0 Puts @ 0.20 – expires in 6 days.
Daily Archives: Thursday, January 7, 2016
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Staying small…
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Staying small but adding at better prices –
Sold UVXY Jan 15 2016 115.0 Calls @ 0.22 – expires in 6 days.
Sold UVXY Jan 22 2016 80.0 Calls @ 1.68 – a couple of weeks out and 100% OTM plus top of the chain
Sold 1 UVXY Mar 18 2016 165.0 Call @ 3.15 – top of the chain and the best risk reward for the time to expiration and the margin requirement of any UVXY option out there. You should be able to ride this position through any VIX spike
Sold 1 UVXY Jun 17 2016 80.0 Call @ 10.95
Sold 1 UVXY Jan 20 2017 170.0 Call @ 12.0
SPX final put spread closed
If SPX ends tomorrow at this level, it will cost me $25.00 to close this spread. So I’m instead closing it now while the long puts still have plenty of value. I will look to do an ITM spread in the near future to replace this. It is a small position so not a huge headache.
BTC $SPX Jan 8th 1970/1945 put spreads for 14.60. Sold for 1.25 last Thursday.
SVXY new low
#VXXGame SVXY just tagged its lowest level since July 2013… a true laggard in the last 15 months, even though it managed to tag an all-time high in June 2015.
Soundtrack for the day…
This song was used in the ending credits for The Big Short (which you should all see) and I think it’s appropriate for today…
Out and Up
#ContangoETFs #Rolling
Man how I love these ETFs; able to roll 10 points higher and still take in a huge credit. $TZA hasn’t been to 60 since the Oct 2014 correction.
BTC TZA Jan 15th 50 calls for 4.65. Sold for 1.40 on Dec 7th.
STO TZA April 15th 60 calls for 5.85.
SVXY
@GreenGhost dissing a 12 month put sale on SVXY on OMM. Time to sell ’em IMHO. He is a great contrary indicator
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Staying small…
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Staying small but adding at better prices –
Sold UVXY Jan 22 2016 80.0 Calls @ 1.48 – a couple of weeks and 100% OTM
Sold 1 UVXY Jan 29 2016 80.0 Call @ 2.21 – a few weeks and 100% OTM
Sold 1 UVXY Mar 18 2016 165. 0 Call @ 3.05 – top of the chain and the best risk reward for the time to expiration and the margin requirement of any option out there. You should be able to ride this position through any VIX spike
$UVXY #ShortCalls – being cautious…
$UVXY #ShortCalls – being cautious but not missing an opportunity. Short medium and long term bets.
Sold UVXY Jan 15 2016 110.0 Calls @ 0.22 – next week
Sold 1 UVXY Jan 29 2016 80.0 Call @ 2.09 – a couple of weeks and 100% OTM
Sold 1 UVXY Jun 17 2016 80.0 Call @ 10.40 – top of the chain
Sold 1 UVXY Jan 20 2017 170.0 Call @ 11.60 – a year out and top of the chain
UVXY soars
#VXXGame STO $UVXY Feb 66 call for 4.00 (a few minutes ago, now it’s 4.75)
STO UVXY Jan 15th 125 call for .15… expire next week. This strike is pretty ridiculous, which is why I only got filled on 1 contract. I’ll see how many I can get.
VIX Indicator firing again
We just passed 25% above Tuesday’s close, which is another Downside signal. Perhaps we’ll get the panic spike today, but I would at least think we should see VIX above the Dec 14th high, which was 26.81, when the low on SPX was 1993… VIX should be higher already. Next VIX signal is at 25.60, which is 100% above the most recent low (Oct 28).
$NUGT $DUST – both are…
$NUGT $DUST – both are on the move. Some near term and long term bets:
Sold NUGT(Weekly) Jan 22 2016 45.0 Calls @ 0.25
Sold DUST Feb 19 2016 10.0 Puts @ 0.75
Sold 1 NUGT Jun 17 2016 72.0 Call @ 2.60
SPX puts closed (again)
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Jan 8th 1940/1915 put spreads for 4.00. Sold for 1.50 on Tuesday. Can’t risk another overnight flush on the S&P, so getting out now. This leaves only one small-sized spread at 1970/1945, currently partly ITM. I will let this one sit and deal with tomorrow, since it is small and easy to shoulder if necessary. Plenty of call spreads expiring tomorrow and in future weeks. Will sell more on any rally and possibly try put spreads on extreme lows. VIX is higher today, but not spiking too high so I still believe 1900 is coming soon.
UVXY June calls
In classic Iceman/#VXXGame style, I just sold $UVXY Jun 17 80 call (highest strike) @ 9.25. Adding to the position at a premium of 1.00 higher than the previous sale.
KOLD closing, VLO opening
#ContangoETFs BTC $KOLD Feb 19th 300 call for .90. Sold for 16.00 on Dec 18th. I don’t think this is at risk of being breached, but closing calls does release margin pressure. I am happy with over 90% of max.
STO $VLO Jan 22nd 74 call for 1.00, after selling a put on this morning’s dip. #Earnings
KOLD low
Nat Gas resuming its rally, and $KOLD hits its lowest point since November 19th.
STO $KOLD Jan 15th 119 put for 1.80
STO $BOIL March 18th 24 call for 1.30
#ContangoETFs
$UVXY Rolled a Jan. 8…
$UVXY Rolled a Jan. 8 covered 32 call to Jan 22 35 call for a 1.15 credit.
$UVXY
STO 3 Jan 15 $70 calls @ $0.43
Staying small but these are 100% OTM with 6 more trading days.
$FB #ShortStock – Bought to…
$FB #ShortStock – Bought to Cover 100 FB short stock @ 99.74. Was assigned on a Short FB Nov 20 2015 100.0 Call and just now was able to cover profitably.
FB will probably now drop to 95 ….
Still short some FB Jun 17 2016 70.0 Puts which look fine for now
Covered put
STO $VLO Jan 29th 67 put for 1.50. I continue to sell puts and calls against this short stock position… assigned at 65.00 after an #Earnings play, my cost basis is now just below 68.00. It is a bullish chart, but the stock is having trouble rising due to oil and market volatility.
China suspends circuit breaker rule
Looks like China is throwing in the towel on their new rule. Makes sense, since they cannot open every day, have a 7% sell-off, and then shut down. This could mean less volatility for Futures tonight, or it could mean an even bigger China sell-off and global panic. And we have job numbers. What a week!
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/china-suspends-stock-circuit-breaker-rule-csrc-says-on-weibo
KOLD puts
#ContangoETFs STO $KOLD Jan 15th 120 puts for 1.30. Margin-free against numerous short calls and expiring in 6 trading days.
$NUGT #CoveredCalls – Sold NUGT…
$NUGT #CoveredCalls – Sold NUGT Jan 15 2016 40.0 Calls @ 0.15. These expire in 6 days and the stock is not even to 30 yet
$UVXY #ShortCalls #OptionLadder – Sold…
$UVXY #ShortCalls #OptionLadder – Sold these on the open. UVXY was over 39 pre-market, but opened calmer than I thought.
Sold 1 UVXY Feb 05 2016 66.0 Call @ 2.56
Sold 1 UVXY Feb 12 2016 66.0 Call @ 2.97
Sold 1 UVXY Feb 19 2016 66.0 Call @ 3.80
These expire Friday and are paired with long stock. I would welcome assignment.
Sold 2 UVXY Jan 08 2016 43.0 Calls @ 0.55
Sold 2 UVXY Jan 08 2016 44.0 Calls @ 0.55
UVXY calls
#VXXGame Sold near the open:
STO $UVXY March 165 calls for 2.60
STO $UVXY June 80 call for 9.00
Highest strikes in both expiries.
Good Morning… Bad News this…
Good Morning…
Bad News this morning (if you’re long)
Markets are in turmoil.
Chinese stocks close just 29 minutes after open
China’s stock exchanges closed for the day at 9:59 a.m. local time after the CSI 300 Index fell more than 7 percent. The selloff was sparked after the central bank cuts its yuan reference rate by the most since August. China’s foreign reserves dropped by a record $108 billion in December as its defense of the yuan becomes more costly.
European stocks follow China’s lead
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid as much as 3.6 percent, the most since August, before trading 3.2 percent lower at 10:40 a.m. in London. Germany’s DAX Index is trading below 10,000 for the first time since October. In the U.K., mining stocks have been hardest hit with Anglo American PLC down more than 10 percent. The pound dropped to a five-year low.
U.S. futures point to ugly open
Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 2.2 percent to 1,938 as of 10:50 a.m. in London. U.S. markets closed lower yesterday following the release of the Fed minutes from the December meeting which provided little clarity on the rate-path. Market indicators show the chances of a Fed rate rise by April have dropped to 43 percent today, from 52 percent on Tuesday. U.S. treasuries continued their longest advance since 2014.
Oil plunges to 2003 low
U.S. oil futures in New York slid to the lowest in 12 years with West Texas Intermediate dropping as much as 5.5 percent before trading down 2.5 percent at $33.12 a barrel at 11:13 a.m. London time. Volatility in the oil market may increase today as tensions in the Middle East rise following Iran’s accusation that Saudi Arabia was responsible for a missile attack on its embassy in Yemen. Industrial metals are also suffering today, with copper on the London Metal Exchange dropping 1.2 percent to $4,565 a metric ton, while nickel slumped 2 percent and zinc declined 2.2 percent. Gold is the only bright spot, trading above $1100 an ounce earlier this morning.
Good morning…
Well, not like we didn’t expect it. Don’t panic like the guy in the cartoon… protect your capital, take opportunities when you can. I’m looking for a big spike in the VIX to consider any neutral or bullish trades; even with Wednesday’s sell-off, VIX was relatively quiet. It has not yet signaled panic, but it has given plenty of downside warning. Once the panic comes, volatility will be driven to higher levels and VXX products will be primed for selling. SPX spreads will be possible in 1600’s or lower.
Options Bistro 