S&P 500 Volume Spikes on $7 Trillion Options Day: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — The last stretch of a busy week for markets saw stocks churning as bond yields rose, with investors also facing the expiration of a pile of options that spurred a surge in trading volume.
Following a brief pause in the Treasury rout, 10-year yields hit 5% on bets that oil prices near $100 could fuel inflation, prompting Federal Reserve rate hikes. While most S&P 500 firms fell, the index edged up as chipmakers rallied. Bitcoin topped $81,000. The yen pared its drop on a news report the Bank of Japan conducted a rate check, a step often seen as a precursor to intervention.
“Nothing has changed on the fundamental side to lead investors to think that oil prices will decline in a significant way or that yields will tumble over the intermediate term,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak. “We could still see a significant jump in volatility.”
Trading volume on US exchanges surpassed 26 billion shares, roughly 40% above the 12-month average. The spike came amid a quarterly event known as triple witching — in which derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures mature.
About $7 trillion of options notional value was set to expire — one of the largest ever, according to Citadel Securities. The event usually threatens to amplify market swings.
Markets remain “on eggshells” amid elevated oil prices and bond yields, and “we are not out of the woods when it comes to the volatility that typically arises during September and October,” according to Rick Gardner at RGA Investments.
“The stock market’s current story may be a ‘Tale of Two Time Horizons’,” said Daniel Skelly at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “In the near term, continued uncertainty about macro factors such as oil prices, high yields, and the mid-term elections have the potential to exacerbate seasonal volatility. In the long term, however, the outlook remains positive.”
US policymakers this week lifted interest rates for the first time since 2023 to curb price pressures. Fed Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid said he supported the decision as a necessary step to tame high inflation that’s being driven by more than just rising oil prices.
“While the latest move by the Fed isn’t likely one-and-done, it also doesn’t look to us like the start of an aggressive rate-hiking cycle,” said Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones. “In our view, the Fed isn’t as far behind the curve as it was in 2022.”
On the economic front, US factory output unexpectedly declined for the first time this year as production of business equipment cooled and manufacturers grappled with higher input costs.
Corporate Highlights:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. founder Warren Buffett is stepping down as the company’s chairman to be replaced by his son Howard, effectively ending roughly six decades at the helm of the conglomerate. Anthropic PBC has told investors it plans to have about 5 gigawatts of computing power available by the end of the year, accelerating expansion plans as the artificial-intelligence company works toward an initial public offering, the New York Times said. Netflix Inc. received its first bearish analyst rating in months as Wells Fargo Securities downgraded the streaming-video company to underweight, citing concerns about user engagement. Sysco Corp. is preparing a roughly $17 billion bond sale for as soon as next week to fund its $29 billion acquisition of cash-and carry wholesaler Jetro Restaurant Depot LLC. Westinghouse Electric Co., a provider of reactor technology to nuclear power plants, is seeking a valuation of more than $50 billion in its US initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7% The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1488 The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3396 The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 156.77 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 6.01% to $81,096.84 Ether rose 7.34% to $2,631.54 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced seven basis points to 5% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.52% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 5.30% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $99.69 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.9% to $4,378.62 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
