SOXL

#coveredcalls
Sto SOXL 25 AUG 2023 25 CALL @.25

SPX stopped

#SPX1dte. This is a rough week. Notice how I tried to get long yesterday and it reversed on me? So I go neutral today and it blows up in my face? The best hope I have for the week will be break even.

Bought to close $SPX Aug 23rd 4335/4355 call spreads for 3.40.

There is about a 90% certainty that this spread will drop below 2.00 at some point and about 50% certainty it will expire worthless. But even a 10% possibility that the rally at this moment won’t stop until the spread is over 5.00 means I have to throw in the towel and take the chunky loss.

And sure enough, by the time I finished typing this, the price dropped .80 lower than the price I paid. Very frustrating week.

#rolling

O.T.

Even my barber told me he owed NVDA and that is what we are waiting for today. LOL

VIXspire

VIX Aug 23 2023 27.0/23.0 Bear Call Spreads expired
VIX Aug 23 2023 25.0/22.0 Bear Call Spreads expired
#OnlySpreads

SPX add on

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 23rd 4360/4340 put spreads for .90. Delta -.08, SPX at 4399.

Added to condor sold yesterday for 1.15

DLR TQQQ Spreads

Sold 1 DLR 08/25/2023 133.0/128.0 Bear Call Spread at $0.30 Credit
Sold 1 TQQQ 09/01/2023 44.0 / 08/25/2023 41.0 Diagonal Bear Call Spread at $0.12 Credit
Sold 1 TQQQ 09/01/2023 43.5 / 08/25/2023 40.5 Diagonal Bear Call Spread at $0.21 Credit
#OnlySpreads

SPX 1-dte

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 23rd 4305/4325-4435/4455 condors for 1.15, SPX at 4384, deltas -.06 +.07, IV 16.1%

SOXL

Sold SOXL Aug 25 2023 18.5 Puts at $0.16

NVDA Spreads

Sold 1 NVDA Aug 25 2023 320/370 Bull Put Spread at $1.19 Credit
Sold 1 NVDA Aug 25 2023 680/610 Bear Call Spread at $1.27 Credit
#Earnings #OnlySpreads

SPY

#ShortPuts – Sold SPY Sep 15 2023 425.0 Put @ 2.52

SPX try again

#SPX1dte This is an aggressive one: Sold to Open $SPX Aug 22nd 4345/4365-4430/4450 condors for 1.15, deltas -.06 +.09

SPX risk reversal

#SPX1dte Market may have found its short term bottom and futures rose overnight, so trying a long call position today.

Sold to Open $SPX Aug 22nd 4375/4355 put spreads, delta -.09
Bought to Open Aug 22nd 4460/4480 call spreads, delta +.05
Total DEBIT -0.15

SPX stopped

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Aug 22nd 4435/4455 call spreads for 2.10. Condors sold earlier for 1.30.

My overlapping Tuesday trade didn’t work this week. But I will sell a new condor in the morning.

Expiring: Aug 21st 4310/4330-4425/4445 condors, sold this morning for 1.131

MRNA TQQQ

Sold 1 MRNA 08/25/2023 125/120 Bear Call Spread at $0.42 Credit
Sold 1 TQQQ 09/01/2023 43.0 / 08/25/2023 40.0 Diagonal Bear Call Spread at $0.23 Credit
#OnlySpreads

AI NVDA TTD RIOT WDAY Calls

#coveredcalls
$AI STO 8/25 34 call at .40
$NVDA STO 8/25 490 call at 14.17
$TTD STO 8/25 76 call at .50

#syntheticcoveredcalls
$RIOT STO 8/25 83 call at .58
$NVDA STO 8/25 510 call at 14.17 510 outside of expected move Earings Wednesday
$WDAY STO 8/25 245 call at 14.17 outside of expected move Earings Wednesday

CVS ILMN TQQQ BOIL

Sold 1 CVS 08/25/2023 66.00 Put at $0.66 and 1 CVS 08/25/2023 70.00 Call at $0.13 for a $0.79 Strangle Credit
Sold 1 ILMN 08/25/2023 157.50 Put at $0.57
Sold TQQQ Aug 25 2023 42.50/40 Bear Call Spreads at $0.23 and $0.35 Credits
Sold 1 BOIL Aug 25 2023 77/72 Bear Call Spread at $0.35 Credit
#OnlySpreads

TLT

#ShortPuts – A couple.

Rolled TLT Sep 15 2023 98.0 Put to Oct 20 2023 98.0 Put @ .35 credit (2.10 total now)
Rolled TLT Sep 15 2023 99.0 Put to Oct 20 2023 99.0 Put @ .25 credit (2.55 total now)

Sold TLT Sep 15 2023 92.0 Put @ 1.62

SPX next day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 22nd 4275/4295-4435/4455 condors for 1.30, SPX at 4375, deltas -.06 +.06, IV 18.3%

Economic Calendar for 8/21-8/25

Screen Shot 2023-08-21 at 6.25.09 AM

SPX same day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 21st 4310/4330-4425/4445 condors for 1.131, deltas -.07 +.05, IV 23.2%

SPY

#CoveredCalls – Saying goodbye to a long held position. Decent gains along with many calls sold against divvys received and now cash going back into the MM sweep account (SPAXX) for nice interest. Now looking to reload! LOL

Stock called away at 395 (basis 387.00)
Stock called away at 399 (basis 394.90)
Stock called away at 400 (basis 391.05)

AMZN

#rolling

ROLLED AMZN ,AUG 18 TO AUG 23 /132 CALL CREDIT 1.85/(7.00 so far)

SPX

#PutButterflies – Took a shot with a long put spread for insurance against a relatively large SPY stock position. Wasn’t working out so turned it into a butterfly to cut some losses.

Expiring: SPX Aug 18 2023 4000/3900/3800 Put Butterfly (bought for 11.60)

XBI

#CoveredCalls – Another.

Sold XBI Aug 25 2023 75.0 Call @ 3.04

XBI

#CoveredCalls – Early exercise on a few short puts. Getting them covered with some downside protection.

Sold XBI AUG 25 2023 75.0 Calls @ 3.33

SPX risk off

#SPX1dte BTC call side for .10. Order in to close puts for the same. No trades for Friday due to my schedule.

SPY,

I covered all my shorts in the SPY options for a loss of about $50.00 because this market feels heavy and there may be an auto workers strike in September along with another interest rate hike. Also, the SPY is below the 50 day MA and the short term MA’s are trending down.

SPX same day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 17th 4345/4365-4460/4480 condors for 1.25, deltas -.06 +.07, IV 23.25%

BOIL CVS VIXspire

A few more diagonal spreads
Bought BOIL 08/25/2023 53 Puts / Sold BOIL 08/18/2023 63 Puts at $0.50 Credit
Bought 1 CVS 08/25/2023 66 Put / Sold 1 CVS 08/18/2023 72 Put at $0.17 Credit

My VIX 08/16 13/14.5 Bull Put spreads expired this morning
My VIX 08/16 22/18 Bear Call spreads also expired this morning
#OnlySpreads

TSLA

#CoveredCalls – Keeping downside protection all the way to the 200 day. Filled on the early bounce.

Rolled TSLA Aug 18 2023 225.0 Call to Aug 23 2023 200.0 Call @ 24.50 credit (66.80 total now)

Risk off

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Aug 16th 4385/4365 put spreads for .30. Condors sold for 1.10 this morning. Stop was still 17 points below the day’s low thus far, but steering clear of the Fed minutes release coming in 45 minutes.

SPX same day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 16th 4365/4385-4480/4500 condors for 1.10, deltas -.06 +.06, IV 23.2%

FOMC minutes released today at 2pm ET, so I don’t expect a lot of decay before then.

ES D AES stock

Bought a tiny bit of ES at $64.99
Bought a tiny bit of D at $48.00
Bought a tiny bit of AES at $18.79
#SP500 #FallingKnife

Late day trades

Sold 1 CVS 70/72.5 Bull Put Spread at $0.15 Credit
Sold 1 CVS 69/72 Bull Put Spread at $0.13 Credit
Sold 1 CVS 75.0 Call at $0.18
Sold 1 VNO 17.5/20 Bull Put Spread at $0.12

Bought 1 UVXY 08/25/2023 30 Call / Sold 1 UVXY 08/18/2023 20 Call at $0.18 Credit
Bought 1 VXX 08/25/2023 45 Call / Sold 1 VXX 08/18/2023 25 Call at $0.68 Credit

Sold VIX 08/16/2023 22/18 Bear Call Spreads at $0.07 Credit
Expires on the open tomorrow
#OnlySpreads

SPY

#ShortPuts – Adding at the 200 day.

Sold SPY Sep 15 2023 415.0 Put @ 1.50

Removing some risk

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Aug 15th 4410/4390 put spreads for .10. Took off one of the put spreads so I’m not doubled up. Leaving everything else for expiration.

TLT

#CoveredCalls – Another round.

Bought to Close TLT Aug 18 2023 99.0 Calls @ .02 (sold for .42)
Sold TLT Aug 25 2023 96.5 Calls @ .45 and .51

CMA MRNA Puts

Sold 1 CMA 40/45 Bull Put spread at $0.17 Credit
Bought MRNA 08/25/2023 80.00 Put / Sold 1 MRNA 08/18/2023 92.00 Put at $0.22 Credit
#OnlySpreads

SPX same day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 15th 4390/4410-4490/4510 condors for .85, deltas -.06 +.06, IV 22.1%, 1 hour 18 minutes after open.

I decided to wait on this as market dropped in middle of night and it seemed it would drop more after open. This is in addition to the condor sold yesterday, which is still open.

TLT

Investors pulled more than $1.8 billion from the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT) last week. This mass withdrawal ranks as the largest migration from the fund since March 2020. Investors’ sentiment has shifted away from long-term Treasurys as they expect the Fed to hold rates higher for longer. Yields on long-term U.S. debt have risen significantly as a result, impacting demand for the recent 30-year Treasury auction and prompting investors to reevaluate their positions in TLT.

SPXpire

#SPX1dte Expiring: $SPX 4425/4445-4510/4530 condors, sold earlier today for 1.00 as a roll.

Keeping the Aug 15th 4395/4415-4535/4555 condors for 1.15 for tomorrow. Deltas ended day at -.03 +.06

AI MARA Calls

#coveredcalls
$AI STO 8/18 35 calls at .51 These were shares assigned on Friday.
$MARA STO 8/18 15.5 calls at .34

SOXL

Sold 1 SOXL Aug 18 2023 28.5/24.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.18 Credit
#OnlySpreads

VIX VXX MRNA BOIL ILMN KMX CVS

Volatility Trades:
Sold VXX Aug 18 2023 30.0 Covered Calls at $0.22
Sold VXX Aug 18 2023 31.0 Calls at $0.20 against leftover long calls from last week
Sold VXX Aug 18 2023 32.0 Calls at $0.18 against leftover long calls from last week
Then on a VIX pullback:
Bought VIX Aug 16 2023 13.0 Puts / Sold VIX Aug 16 2023 14.5 Puts at $0.24 Net Credit

This week’s stock spreads:
Sold 1 MRNA 08/18/2023 92.00 Put at $0.14 against leftover long put from last week
Sold BOIL 08/18/2023 63.00 Puts at $0.45 against leftover long puts from last week
Sold 1 ILMN 08/18/2023 170/160 Bull Put Spread at $0.54 Credit
Sold 1 ILMN 08/18/2023 167.5/157.5 Bull Put Spread at $0.57 Credit
Sold 1 KMX 08/18/2023 93/88 Bear Call Spread at $0.28 Credit
Bought 1 CVS 08/25/2023 80 Call/Sold 1 08/18/2023 75 Call for a $0.32 Credit
#OnlySpreads

SPX next day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 15th 4395/4415-4535/4555 condors for 1.15, deltas -.06 +.05, IV 15.3%

LULU

Rolled $LULU 8/18/2023 150/160 #BuPS // 9/15/2023 140/150 @1.45 credit.

SPX stopped

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Aug 14th 4500/4520 call spreads for 1.40. Condors sold for 1.20 this morning. Going to sell another condor.

#rolling

SPX same day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 14th 4390/4410-4500/4520 condors for 1.20, deltas -.05 +.07, IV 22.3%

OptionsExpiration

A good week this week. Done with trading options in DLR, STX and TROW after everything for those stocks expired

BOIL 41/66 Bull Put Spread
BOIL 42/67 Bull Put Spread
BOIL 53/69 Bull Put Spread
BOIL 82/74 Bear Call Spread
BOIL 80/72 Bear Call Spreads
BOIL 75 Diagonal Call

CMA 55/54 Bear Call Spread

CVS 75.0 Diagonal Call
CVS 76.0 Diagonal Call

DLR 133/125 Bear Call Spread
DLR 133/122 Bear Call Spread

MRNA 90.0 Diagonal Put

SOXL 20/21 Bull Put Spreads

STX 76/71 Bear Call Spread

TROW 133/120 Bear Call Spead
TROW 133/116 Bear Call Spread

UVXY 38/25 Bear Call Spreads
UVXY 39/26 Bear Call Spread

VXX 48/33 Bear Call Spread
VXX 47/32 Bear Call Spread
VXX 40/30.5 Bear Call Spread
VXX 25.5 and 28.0 Covered Calls

SPXpire

#SPX1dte Both condors expiring worthless. I chose not to close either since market made no threatening moves. I’m also not selling for Monday now, since IV on Monday options is always super low on Friday afternoons, only 9.35% at 15 minutes before close.

Over last couple weeks, some of the more traditional width of 6-delta condors returned, with ability to get 100 or more points even if selling same-day. Hope that remains.

BOIL Puts

Bought to close BOIL Aug 11 2023 69.0 Diagonal Puts at $0.05.
Sold yesterday at $0.70 and $0.72

Sold 1 long BOIL Aug 18 2023 61.0 Put used to hedge the 69 puts at $0.30
Bought at $0.25
Sold 1 long BOIL Aug 18 2023 62.0 Put used to hedge the 69 puts at $0.45
Bought at $0.30
#WinWin #OnlySpreads

DIS

STO DIS Jan19’24 80 PUT @2.45

AMZN

#rolling
rolled AMZN 11 AUG 2023/18 AUG 2023 132 CALL @.65 /5.15 credit now

NVDA

Roll $NVDA 8/18/.2023 395/405 #BuPS // 9/15.2023 @1.20 credit. Stock @408.75.

TLT TSLA

#SyntheticCoveredCalls #CoveredCalls – A few.

TLT: Another round.

Bought to Close TLT Aug 11 2023 97.5 Calls @ .01 (sold for .78)
Sold TLT Aug 18 2023 97.5 Calls @ .39

TSLA: Covered and keeping downside protection.

Rolled TSLA Aug 11 2023 230.0 Call to Aug 18 2023 225.0 Call @ 6.30 credit (42.30 total now)

SPY,

STO September 400 puts at 1.41, I was early on this one.

Economic Calendar for 8/14-8/18

Screen Shot 2023-08-11 at 6.30.44 AM
Screen Shot 2023-08-11 at 6.30.57 AM

UVXY BOIL CMA

UVXY
Bought to close UVXY Aug 11 2023 25.0 Covered Calls at $0.01
Bought to close UVXY Aug 11 2023 24.0 Covered Calls at $0.01
Sold to open UVXY Aug 11 2023 28.0 Covered Calls at $0.27

BOIL
I got the first spread off and then kept lowering the strike of the long side of the spread
Sold 1 BOIL Aug 18 2023 88/78.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.32 Credit
Sold 1 BOIL Aug 18 2023 87/78.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.32 Credit
Sold 1 BOIL Aug 18 2023 86/78.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.32 Credit
Sold 1 BOIL Aug 18 2023 85/78.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.32 Credit
Sold 1 BOIL Aug 18 2023 84/78.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.35 Credit

CMA
Sold 1 CMA 08/18/2023 57.5/54 Bear Call Spread at $0.32 Credit

SPY Expiration

Yesterday
1 SPY 08/10/2023 463/453 Bear Call Spread
1 SPY 08/10/2023 462/452 Bear Call Spread

SPX same day

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Aug 11th 4380/4400-4510/4530 condors for 0.974, deltas -.05 +.05, IV 25.9%

This is inside the condor I sold yesterday for 1.20 (in the post below). I am planning on making this a “roll”, so I will close the other one… order in now to close for .25.

SPX 1-dte

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX 4365/4385-4525/4545 condors for 1.20, SPX at 4463, deltas -.05 +.07, IV 19.1%

SPX risk off

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Aug 10th 4430/4410 put spreads for .30, condors sold this morning for 1.15

My stop was NOT hit, but this stair-stepping down has me nervous I’ll face a bigger loss before the close.

VXX Puts

Rolled down VXX 08/11/2023 30.5 Puts to VXX 08/18/2023 30.0 Puts at $0.25 Debit but gained $0.50 on the short strike.

Markets

Quite a stat from
@bespokeinvest
The 101 S&P 500 stocks that pay no dividends are up an average of 20.7% YTD, while the 100 highest yielding stocks in the index are down 3.2% YTD.

CSCO Stock

Sold my last tiny lot of CSCO at $53.89
Bought on 05/19/2022 at $42.91.
#FormerFallingKnife

BOIL Spreads

Yesterday I sold 1 BOIL 85/75 Diagonal Call spread at $2.48 Credit
Today :
Sold 1 BOIL 57/67 Diagonal Put spread at $0.18 Credit
Sold 1 BOIL 53/66 Diagonal Put spread at $0.18 Credit.
#OnlySpreads

CPI report & Jobless claims

July inflation was +0.2%, as expected. +3.2% year over year, versus 3.3 expected.
Weekly jobless claims higher than expected: 248K versus 230K estimated

SPX same day

#SPX1dte About three minutes after CPI report release: Sold to Open $SPX Aug 10th 4410/4430-4555/4575 condors for 1.15, deltas -.06 +.05, IV 28.2%.

SPY Expiration

1 SPY 08/09/2023 464/454 Bear Call Spread
Also 1 SPY 08/09/2023 452.00 Diagonal Call

Added one new diagonal today:
Bought 1 SPY 08/11/2023 461.00 Call at $0.02
Sold 1 SPY 08/10/2023 452.00 Call at $0.29 for a $0.27 Credit
#OnlySpreads

ADBE Iron Condor

Sold to open $ADBE Sep 15 455/465/580/590 iron condor @ 2.74. Earnings expected 9/14, the day before opex.

SMCI Iron Condor

Sold to open $SMCI Sep 15 210/220/340/350 iron condor @ 2.65. Post-earnings.

SPY

#ShortPuts – Adding slightly inside the expected move but below the 50 day.

Sold SPY Sep 15 2023 430.0 Put @ 3.26

SPX stopped

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Aug 9th 4460/4440 put spreads for 2.60. Condors sold this morning for .90. That wiped away most profit for the week, I am now at +0.44.

TLT TBT

#CoveredCalls #LongPuts – Yes, you read that second hash tag correctly. LOL!

TLT: Another round of synthetic dividends.

Bought to Close TLT AUG 11 2023 101.0 Calls @ .02 (sold for .38)
Sold TLT AUG 18 2023 99.0 Calls @ .42

TBT: A long term play on a bond recovery. Also a hedge to allow slightly more aggressive call selling in my TLT positions. Might sell puts against these occasionally.

Bought to Open TBT JAN 17 2025 25.0 Puts @ 2.00

Morning News

Hope someone here lives in Hollis Illinois.

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker expects rates to remain steady. He believes we may be at the point where we can let the central bank’s monetary policy do its job, though he doesn’t expect rates cuts anytime soon. The Fed raised rates again in July after “pausing” in June when it was comfortable with easing economic activity. The economy’s slowdown is expected to continue, and Harker forecasts core inflation to reach the Fed’s 2% target in 2025.

U.S. trade deficit shrinks for first time in two years – Recent data from the Commerce Department shows that the U.S. trade deficit fell to a three-month low of $65.5 billion in June. This came in below analyst expectations of $65 billion and marks the lowest level since 2021. Shifting consumer spending has led to decreased demand for foreign goods and reduced imports. Overall, Americans are more cautious with their money, though they are also spending more on services rather than goods.

After decades of being the top U.S. importer, China has finally fallen below Mexico and Canada. This shift in U.S. imports reflects the changing dynamics of global trade and can be attributed to several factors, including differences in trade policies and efforts to diversify supply chains. The strained relationship between the U.S. and China has prompted the U.S. to explore alternative sourcing options and mitigate risks in the face of geopolitical uncertainties.