3 months ago
What a Triple Witching Day Means for the Stock Market
It’s the third Friday of June, which means there’s witching afoot in the stock market. Be prepared for some weird trading.
The third Friday of March, June, September, and December are called triple witching days because stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options all expire on the same day. That represents some $5.5 trillion in futures and options expiring at the same time, writes Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
Triple witching days can lead to higher volume and volatility. Traders shouldn't put too much stock in intraday swings, for this reason.
The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, was up 1.5% to 13.48. The Dow was up 26 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 was down 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1%.
“Given that we are at psychologically crucial, irrationally high, and mathematically overstretched levels, we could see surprise turns and twists in positioning,” Ozkardeskaya writes.
