Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 8
S&P 500 Breaks 7,700 as 4 Million Index Calls Trade and VIX Hits 7-Month Low
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 8

S&P 500 Breaks 7,700 as 4 Million Index Calls Trade and VIX Hits 7-Month Low

3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 8

Summary

  • The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Friday to cap a 3.6% weekly gain after crossing 7,700 for the first time, with the VIX falling to its lowest level since January.
  • More than 4 million S&P 500 index calls traded on Cboe on Tuesday—10% above the prior record—while zero-day calls hit a record 2.4 million and the put-call ratio dropped to 0.83.
  • Positioning shows traders still leaning bullish: S&P 500 open interest ended the week at 27.4 million contracts, with heavy SPY interest clustered around 760 as potential support and 785 as upside resistance.
  • Semiconductor shares added fuel to the rally, with SOXX up more than 7% for the week and Corgi's EUV ETF gaining 13% as beaten-down chip stocks rebounded.
  • The advance was also helped by the 10-year Treasury yield stabilizing at 4.7% and by S&P 500 second-quarter earnings tracking 47% growth, the strongest since the 2021 post-Covid rebound.

Insights

Why are institutional traders quietly loading up on semiconductor put options while the broader market celebrates record-breaking highs?
With record highs masking dangerously narrow market breadth, is the stock market actually setting up for a massive tech collapse?
Could the unprecedented divergence between single-stock chaos and index calm be the ultimate trap for retail investors?