SpaceX advertisements are displayed on digital billboards on buildings in Times Square to commemorate the start of SpaceX’s initial public offering (IPO) in New York on June 12, 2026.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
There’s nothing better than traders gobbling up $2 trillion in new stocks to rid the market of fear.
Just 10 days ago, the tech industry tanked and the stock market suffered its worst day since October 2025. CBOE Volatility Index There was also a rush to increase, with investor concerns about how the market could digest the flood of new investments. space x stock. Now, as the largest initial public offering in history goes off without a hitch, investors are buying back into the same stocks they sold earlier, and Wall Street’s so-called “fear gauge” is trading below its long-term average.
CBOE Volatility Index for the past month
of Nasdaq 100 It rose 3% on Monday. of S&P500 It was last up about 1.7%, close to the record it set earlier this month. semiconductor It surged again, adding more than 4% to its all-time high. Bears who claimed speculators had run out of appetite now face SpaceX’s market cap of about $2.5 trillion, but that’s not the case. SpaceX stock rose 13% on Monday.
“While the SPX index rose modestly by 0.7% last week, the VIX index fell much more than expected, primarily due to protective unwinding near money hedges and downside convexity positions,” Ed Thom, Cboe’s senior director of derivatives market intelligence, said in a note to clients on Monday.
The VIX fell below 16 at Monday’s low, and the spike in volatility that began on June 5th has completely eased. VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) It was down more than 10% from the record. Option flow for semiconductor stocks still shows significant hedging activity, but trading near the VIX indicates a more bullish outlook for the stock.
There were more puts than calls on the VIX index on Monday, and about the same number of calls sold and bought, according to ThinkOrSwim data. More than $70 million of the $93 million in option premium trades were tied to puts, according to SpotGamma data. The most popular contract by volume was a 16-strike put expiring on Wednesday, with 46,000 contracts traded.
At SMH, flows continued to trend bearishly as they have in recent weeks, despite semiconductors hitting record highs. Stock indexes include more semiconductors than ever before, and investors are likely paying to hedge against this month’s volatility. Approximately 60% of SMH’s premium was in puts, but put spread sellers were also prominent. That included the day’s biggest trader, who raised $5 million by selling two large put spreads expiring on July 17, then spent $2.7 million long a 600/550 spread that expired on the same day.
Options traders will have a lot to digest on Tuesday when SpaceX options are listed. Tesla options have long been popular among retail traders and have consistently been one of the most active single stock derivatives.
