Despite rising interest rates and stark warnings from leading AI executives about potential catastrophic consequences without proper regulation, the Nasdaq 100 index posted its strongest single-day performance in six weeks, drawing options traders into the market in droves.
Following the Federal Reserve's first rate hike since 2023, the VIX volatility index spiked on Wednesday to levels not seen since late July. However, it retreated by more than two points on Thursday, settling at 15.4, its lowest level of the week. The S&P 500 rallied over 1% on Thursday, with ten of its eleven sectors closing higher, while at-the-money call options in the floor-traded market were priced more than $2 above puts—a skew that signals intense demand for upside exposure.
On Thursday, traders flocked to technology stock options, with volume for Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD), CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD), and SpaceX all exceeding their 30-day averages, with positioning tilted heavily bullish.
Intel shares surged to a fresh high since July, climbing 35% from their summer lows and rapidly becoming one of the most actively traded names among options players. A Reuters report on Wednesday noted that the company is in talks with SK Hynix to manufacture chips on US soil. By Thursday, Intel options volume had exceeded 1.3 million contracts, nearly triple the monthly average. According to ThinkOrSwim data, traders bought roughly 270,000 calls against fewer than 140,000 puts. SpotGamma figures show total new premium of $320 million, of which $231 million flowed into call contracts.
Among contracts expiring after Friday, the most heavily traded was the October 2 expiry call with a $115 strike price, which requires a further 7.7% advance in the share price to become profitable. Intel's long-time rival AMD also saw bullish inflows, with options volume nearly double its average. Data from Cboe LiveVol indicates traders bought about 107,000 calls and 71,500 puts, with put selling roughly matching put buying. The largest single trade in AMD was a purchase of 1,500 November 20 calls at a $550 strike priced at $8.3 million, paired with the sale of an equal number of June next year calls at a $750 strike of similar value. Combined, this spread reaches breakeven if AMD crosses $615 by the November expiry.
Bullish sentiment also extended to cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike, whose stock is already up 120% this year. The most sought-after buy-side contract that day was the call option expiring this Friday at a $250 strike, quoted at $2, needing only a 2% further gain to break even. As a hot IPO name this year, SpaceX touched a fresh high since July 7, with options volume surging as well. Total premium traded exceeded $1.5 billion, of which $1.1 billion was tied to puts—but nearly 60% of that premium came from a few large put sales, including one block of 41,000 puts at a $205 strike expiring this Friday, valued at over $200 million.