Spooked Traders Just Piled Into Stock Protection at Record Rate
- Overall volume in put options surged to highest level ever
- ‘Fear clearly arrived,’ says Alon Rosin at Oppenheimer
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Options traders spooked by turmoil across Wall Street snapped up protection against further losses in stocks at the fastest pace on record.
More than 33 million bearish contracts changed hands Friday across the board, the busiest session since data began in 1992. The largest exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500 (ticker SPY) also saw volume in puts spike to an all-time high after a week of central bank-induced volatility in everything from equities and bonds to currencies.