Volatility Tracker for the week of February 1, 2010
This week saw realized volatility rise to meet last week’s spike in implied levels, although as I mentioned those spot implied levels weren’t easily sustainable. [2] I’m not the world’s greatest proponent of technical analysis, but the price charts for equities and oil deserve a look. Failure to revert toward recent averages would be further confirmation of the ill health of this market. [4,15]
With a less than one-point range over the past…
Volatility Tracker for January 19, 2010
Last week, I noted the very wide spread between short-term realized and implied volatilities. Although the selloff on Friday alleviated conditions slightly, [5] the spread is still large enough that traders inclined to be net sellers of options need not fear occasional daily increases in realized volatility. [6] The smartest trade in equity index options at this point might be to sell the wings and buy the guts on a dollar-neutral basis, delta-hedging as needed:…
Volatility Tracker for the week of November 16, 2009
Equity index options are about as evenly priced as they’ve been in some time [5,6], but another continuation of the intermediate-term rally would mean more disappointment for option buyers, especially those who entered new positions in early November.
The ratio of short-and long-term (Jan 2010 vs. Jan 2011) implied correlation is getting noisier, but is also challenging its lows for the year. At the Volatility Trading Summit earlier this month, several participants voiced…
Volatility Tracker for the week of August 31, 2009
The CBOE Implied Correlation Index spiked to its highest level last week since the beginning of the rally that began this spring. [10] In a healthy, normally functioning market, companies that succeed will see their stock prices rise, while the stocks of failing companies will fall. In a healthy, normally functioning market, the stocks of winners and losers alike won’t rise or fall together in lock step; but the increase in [10]…
Volatility Tracker for the week of August 17, 2009
Conventionally, equity prices and implied volatility are inversely correlated, meaning that traders who expect a price decline should be net buyers of options. But as long as the ratio of lagged implied and realized volatility remains this high, [5,6] it makes sense to be a net seller of equity index options, even alongside the expectation of a modest price decline. Regarding index prices, I would only mention that an “overbought” condition can…
Monday, February 1, 2010
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