Market and time worked together
Technology rebounded and fear eased. On Monday the Nasdaq-100 gained 1.17% after a difficult week, VIX fell 1.55 points to 18.44, and on the Convexa scale the volatility regime moved from Tense back to Normal (VIX/VIX3M 0.941).
The account turned positive within the first hour of trading and kept a positive result into the close. Two forces did the main work, in almost equal measure: the directional move of the market helped the strategy noticeably, and premium decay added as much over time.
Working against it were the sharpness of the move (Gamma) and volatility (Vega): implied volatility across the book rose during the day. Their pressure was weak, however, and both supporting forces outweighed it. Against the backdrop of a rising Nasdaq-100, the day was favourable for short volatility.
The calendar ahead. Tuesday brings September housing starts and Netflix results after the close, Wednesday Tesla and Meta, and Friday 23 October the weekly QQQ options expiry. The Fed is in its blackout period until the 27–28 October meeting.
For information only. Describes the author's own account. Not investment advice or an offer. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The author is not licensed.
Editor’s Note reflects the author’s market perspective at the time of publication and should be read as commentary, not investment advice.
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