Geopolitical drama is back on the menu, and the futures options markets are feeling the heat. In this episode of This Week in Futures Options (TWIFO), Mark Longo breaks down a wild week where nearly every complex saw a volatility explosion. From potential trade wars to “Greenland drama,” we explore how the tape is reacting at CME Group.
On today’s episode, we dive into:
The Movers & Shakers Report
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The Volatility Spike: A look at the CVOL (CME Volatility Index) across the board. Why Treasury vol is roaring back to life (up 10 points) and Energy is pining the needle at 69.35.
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Natural Gas Mania: Nat Gas jumps a staggering 57% as the polar vortex hits.
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Metals & FX: Precious metals explode in both price and vol, while FX vol gains a full point on trade war chatter.
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The Dark Side: Bitcoin slides over 8%, leading the losers alongside Palladium and Copper.
Equities: The Big Tech Rotation
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Nasdaq vs. Small Caps: We analyze the pronounced rotation out of large-cap tech and into small caps.
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Zero-DTE Action: A deep dive into the massive paper hitting the Nasdaq-100 (NQ), where 0-DTE contracts dominated 43% of the weekly flow.
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The March Skew: Why traders are paying a premium for March 24,000 puts in the Nasdaq and what it means for the next 60 days of market risk.
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Call Discounts: Is the 13.5% discount on March calls a buying opportunity or a warning sign?
Market Intelligence
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Geopolitical Impact: How the “Greenland deal” headlines and Middle East tensions are impacting WTI and precious metals.