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Trade Options Like Wall Street Professionals With These Two New Tools

Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff deadline (April 2) is looming, with big implications for traders. This wildcard event could tip sector flows, shift hedging activity, and force institutions to adjust, fast. Yet this market catalyst comes with its own set of risks and opportunities. The difference comes down to how well you can see a setup before it happens. 

For those still trading based on valuation or headlines alone, that’s like playing checkers on a chessboard. Successful traders have long known that there is much more behind market movements.

Just take a look at SPX, one of the most liquid market instruments in the world. What caused price to violently retract from intraday highs on March 19 and 20? And why did price suddenly become particularly stable on March 24 after a tumultuous prior two weeks? As our derivative expert friends from SpotGamma write, it’s clear that something else is behind this market — something we’ve been tracking for years: options flows.

So, as part of our ongoing partnership with SpotGamma, and ahead of SpotGamma’s launch of their new and powerful tools – the Synthetic OI Lens and Compass Screener – both of which offer readers option-trading tools which until now were reserved only for Wall Street professionals, they present five options-driven trading insights to “weaponize” right now for those who want to stay sharp, trade with precision, and frontrun the herd.

1. Growth in Options Trading Isn’t Just a Fad. It’s the Market Now.

Next expiry options — better known as 0DTEs — aren’t just for a handful of meme stock speculators anymore. They make up more than 50% of all SPX options volume, up from just 17% in 2020. That means intraday flows are influencing price action more than ever.

And here’s the kicker: 88.5% of all options trading is happening on-exchange and retail. 

Translation? The pros are watching your moves. And if you don’t understand how your trades affect hedging flows, you’re the one getting played.

Trading Edge: Monitor 0DTE gamma positioning before the open. SpotGamma’s HIRO and TRACE tools show where dealers are getting pinned, or forced to chase.

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2. Fundamentals Light the Fuse, Options Flows Decide the Blast Radius

Netflix’s post-earnings jump in January? The market expected a 7% move. It ripped 14% higher, directly toward a $1,000 call wall SpotGamma flagged the day before.

“There are large positions up at $1,000… there is enough gamma that NFLX could move more than just 7%” – SpotGamma Founder Brent Kochuba, January 21, 2025

Why was this?

By reading the options market, it was clear that options flows could exacerbate any price movement — with no overhead resistance until the $1,000 strike for NFLX.

Trading Edge: Use SpotGamma’s Equity Hub to track support/resistance levels defined by options open interest — not lagging technicals. If there’s a wall of gamma, you’d better believe price will bounce or stall there.

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3. Market Makers Are the Real Movers

Every option trade needs a hedge, and that hedge moves markets. If 100,000 calls are…

Victor Davis Hanson: How Donald Trump Is Reshaping America In Just 7 Weeks

Via The Daily Signal,

How should we characterize the first seven weeks of the Trump administration because we get so much information and misinformation?

Almost a day doesn’t go by where The Wall Street Journal is predicting that we are headed for a recession, that our allies are furious at us, that the economy is on the brink.

So, what are we gonna make of all this? I think it’s time to take a deep breath and envision the first seven weeks is something like the following: President Donald Trump is in a race. He’s in a race to enact fundamental, disruptive change, a counterrevolution, and it’s going to be rough for a while, as he pointed out.

But the things that he has already done are going to have, shortly or maybe even midterm, fundamental advantages for the United States. The question is, can he message and can he explicate and explain what he’s doing so people hang on? Because the eventual reward will be great.

Now, what do I mean? We’re talking about tariffs, tariffs, tariffs, but even the mere mention of tariffs for all of these countries that have not been reciprocal and have imposed tariffs on us in a way that we would never think of imposing on them, that idea that we might return to parity, it’s had an enormous effect.

Some $4 trillion of announced investment from the Europeans, from the Saudis, from the Chinese, from the Mexican government, from the Canadians even. That will create hundreds of thousands of jobs. And that is in the process of working out.

When Donald Trump entered office in 2017, we were only pumping about 9 million barrels. When he left, we were pumping 12 million. The Biden administration immediately cut back. And then it decided, before the midterms, “Hey, Americans like affordable oil.” So then they continued the Trump plan and got up to 12, almost 13 million barrels.

Already in just seven weeks, we have increased the amount of oil produced per day in the United States by about a third of a million barrels. And we’re on schedule to get up to about 14 million barrels by the beginning of the year. And that is coordinated with an increase in Middle East production as well.

So, we’re going to see a moderation of energy prices, which may explain, already, why the inflation rate was not nearly as high as was predicted.

If we look at the border, it’s amazing. We were told that the border problem was unsolvable without comprehensive immigration reform. And there were 10,000 people swarming up per day. We don’t even—nonchalantly, nobody talks about it anymore. But it’s a revolutionary achievement. There’s nobody going across the border illegally, or at least, it’s statistically insignificant.

The big issue right now is the Left is cherry-picking judges to prevent, not the deportation of somebody who’s working, who’s never been arrested, who’s been here for five or six years, but criminals and people who already have been ordered out…

Will India Join The Asian “Squad”?

Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Romeo Brawner invited India to join the Asian “Squad” while speaking at the latest annual Raisina Dialogue security forum in Delhi. This neologism was reportedly coined by Pentagon officials last spring to refer to the multilateral cooperation between the US, Australia, Japan, and the Philippines. Brawner suggested that India can participate through the sharing of intelligence on their “common enemy” China. Here are five background briefings:

* 16 June 2023: “The US’ Nascent Trilateral Alliance With Japan & The Philippines Will Integrate Into AUKUS+”

* 27 January 2024: “Why’s Russia Letting India Export Jointly Produced Supersonic Missiles To The Philippines?”

* 29 March 2024: “India’s Support Of The Philippines In Its Maritime Dispute With China Isn’t Related To The US”

* 6 May 2024: “The US’ Newly Formed Asian ‘Squad’ Has Strategic Implications For India”

* 18 February 2025: “The Latest Modi-Trump Summit Showcased India’s Multi-Alignment Strategy”

To summarize, the Philippines is becoming the centerpiece of the US’ planned “Pivot (back) to Asia” for more muscularly containing China, which will de facto expand the AUKUS alliance throughout the region. India is a founding member of the Quad alongside the US, Australia, and Japan, but it fiercely safeguards its hard-earned strategic autonomy and won’t subordinate itself to the US like the other two and the Philippines will in spite of its problems with China, which is why it wasn’t included in the “Squad”.

India and China also entered into a rapprochement after their leaders met on the sidelines of October’s BRICS Summit in Kazan, with the US being inadvertently responsible for this process as explained here at the time, yet tensions still remain. Trump’s return to the presidency changed India’s strategic calculations, however, since he’s tough on China and is prioritizing the “Pivot (back) to Asia”. The US’ grand strategic reorientation to that part of Eurasia will give India a larger role in American planning.

Indian policymakers might therefore see value in sharing intelligence on China with their Philippine partner, who’s one of the US’ mutual defense allies, through the “Squad” format. This could even lay the basis for a new “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance. Further ingratiating India with the Pentagon’s planning vis-à-vis China, so long as India retains its hard-earned strategic autonomy this entire time, might also result in less trade and tariff pressure from Trump or so Indian policymakers might think.

On the flipside, India could risk provoking China and thus further complicating their already difficult rapprochement if Beijing interprets this as signaling Delhi’s impending subordination to Washington, in which case their border tensions could once again worsen and last fall’s progress would be reversed. The bilateral sharing of intelligence with the Philippine would also likely be viewed as provocative by China but it would still be qualitatively different than India’s de facto or formal inclusion in the “Squad”.

Accordingly, one possibility is that India comprehensively ramps up its security cooperation with the Philippines without multilateralizing this through the “Squad”, all while communicating to the US how sensitive this issue…

The Global Economy As An After School Special

By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

The Global Economy As An After School Special

This follows directly from Friday’s Warning, for lack of a better word, which leaned heavily on last weekend’s Be Afraid of Certainty, Not Uncertainty. Since anything can happen between the time this is distributed and “Liberation” Day, it seemed like a good time to take a view from 20,000 feet. Which leads me to discussing After School Specials.

For those who don’t know, the After School Special was a type of TV show. Longer (1 hour) with a bigger budget than a typical show aimed at children. But there was always a message or a moral to the show.

The typical show ran something along the lines of:

A bad person, or group (bully, extortion, protection, etc.) does something to a good person, or group (generally weaker, awkward, or “loners”).
Over time the “good” person or group trains, gets organized, or does something to fight back against the bad group or person.
After an attempt or two, the good people win.
More often than not, the “bad” people realize that they have been bad, and come to an agreement with the “good” people or even team up and let bygones be bygones. As “phony” as the rest of the plot, this ending always seemed the phoniest of all.
Right now, the trade war looks a lot like this, with a few plot “twists.”

The U.S. administration believes it has been taken advantage of for years hence it is the good team in this global economic “movie.” The administration is just starting to fight back as the underdog to get even with the bullies/extortionists/protection racketeers.
The rest of the world sees the U.S. as being the bully, the one upsetting the order, and flaunting traditional rules of engagement. Hence much of the rest of the world views themselves as the good people in the global economic “movie.”
Basically, the global economy (and some of this may apply to the ongoing wars and attempts at peace) is living in an After School Special – though everyone seems to believe they are on the “good” side.

The Problem with “An Eye for an Eye”

In theory an “eye for an eye” makes some sense. You poke out my eye, I poke out your eye. We are all even. We move on. Maybe this is where the concept of “reciprocity” fits in?

The problem is, in the real world, even at the After School Special level of preachiness, you can see how things can get out of control. No one can figure out who took the first eye, so it just keeps going on and on. Sound familiar to the tariff “negotiations” or rationalizations?

Why did you slap me?
Because you made fun of my girlfriend.
Oh, but I said that because you mushed my brother’s ice cream into his face.
And I’m sure there was a reason to mush the brother’s face in ice cream.
And on and on and on.
Okay, this sounds juvenile (and it is) but isn’t what we are…

SpaceX Offers Starlink To Myanmar, Thailand After 1000 Dead In Massive Earthquake

SpaceX announced on Friday that it is “prepared to provide Starlink kits to assist with communications and relief efforts” in Thailand and Myanmar (also known as Burma), after more than 1,000 people were killed when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the country earlier in the day.

Devastating to hear of the earthquake’s toll on Thailand and Myanmar. The SpaceX team is prepared to provide Starlink kits to assist with communications needs and relief efforts, pending any necessary governmental approvals.
— Starlink (@Starlink) March 29, 2025
In addition to a death toll of 1,002 as of Saturday, there are 2,376 injured and 30 missing according to the military government, up sharply from the 144 dead reported by state media on Friday.

As the Epoch Times notes further, the U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the earthquake—which was 6.2 miles deep—was close to the city of Mandalay in Burma.

A dramatic video circulating on social media shows a high-rise building in Bangkok collapsing in a cloud of dust as construction workers run for their lives. Thai authorities said nine people had died and 101 were missing in Bangkok, mostly laborers trapped in the rubble of the collapsed tower.

High-rise building collapses due to strong #earthquake in Chatuchak, Bangkok. #แผ่นดินไหว #กรุงเทพมหานคร pic.twitter.com/fiRV6ZIZq2
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) March 28, 2025
The high-rise building was being built for the auditor general of the Thai government by the China Railway Construction Corporation.

The USGS’s predictive modeling estimated the death toll could exceed 10,000 people in Burma, and that losses could be greater than the value of the country’s gross domestic product.

In Burma, the military government has declared a state of emergency in six regions and states, including Mandalay and the capital, Naypyidaw.

It said on the Telegram messaging app, “The state will make inquiries on the situation quickly and conduct rescue operations along with providing humanitarian aid.”

The Red Cross said: “Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage. Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered.”
Machinery is moved on the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok on March 29, 2025, a day after an earthquake struck central Burma and Thailand. Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images

The Burmese government’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, told state-run MRTV television channel that blood was in high demand in hospitals in Mandalay, Sagaing, and Naypyidaw.

The president of the European Commission wrote on X: “Heartbreaking scenes from Myanmar and Thailand after the devastating earthquake. My thoughts are with the victims & their families. Europe’s Copernicus satellites are already helping first responders. We are ready to provide more support. We stand with you in full solidarity.”

Chinese media reported that the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.

Burma’s second biggest city, Mandalay, was close to the epicenter, and a local resident, Htet Naing Oo, said several people had been trapped inside a tea shop which had collapsed.

She said, “We couldn’t go in. The situation is very bad.”

Photographs and videos posted on Facebook showed widespread…