Small-Time Options Traders Bet Big on US Stocks Falling Further
- Traders bought many more puts to open than calls last week
- ‘First time in history that puts were 3x calls’: Goepfert
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Look no further than retail traders for a picture of pessimistic sentiment toward US equities, with bets on declines outnumbering wagers on gains by more than three to one.
Small-lot options traders -- those buying no more than 10 options contracts at a time -- snapped up $19.9 billion worth of puts to open last week while purchasing only $6.5 billion in calls to open, data compiled by Sundial Capital Research Inc. show.