Market Overview

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI.US) rose by 0.4% to 44,502.44 points, while the NASDAQ(IXIC.US) fell by 0.39% to 20,892.69 points. The S&P 500 index(SPX.US) edged up by 0.06% to 6,309.62 points.

Notably, the trading volume for S&P 500 put options reached 1.9258 million contracts, compared to 1.5646 million for call options, resulting in a put/call ratio of approximately 1.23. This indicates a strong bearish sentiment among investors regarding the index. Among these, the SPX put option contract SPXW 050925 P 5200 saw a trading volume of 58,800 contracts, with a VOL/OI ratio of 110.96. The strike price for this contract is $5,200.00, and it increased by 1.1%

Top 10 Options Trading Volume:

NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US): Overnight, the stock fell by 2.54%. The daily options trading volume reached 2.45 million contracts, an increase of 908,600 contracts from the previous day, representing a 0.59-fold increase. The open interest stands at 18.87 million contracts. According to SEC filings, Jensen Huang sold approximately 75,000 shares on July 18, cashing in about $12.94 million at prices ranging from $172.0652 to $173.6049 per share. From July 16 to 18, Huang sold a total of 225,000 shares, cashing in over $38 million.

OpenDoor Technologies, Inc.(OPEN.US): Overnight, the stock dropped by 10.28%. The daily options trading volume reached 1.96 million contracts, a decrease of 1.4326 million from the previous day, representing a 0.42-fold decrease. The open interest is 2.04 million contracts. The stock has experienced significant volatility over the past week, including a 36% increase last Friday and a pre-market rise of over 30% on Monday, with intraday surges nearing 50%. The relative strength index (RSI) reached 90.82, indicating an extremely overbought condition. OpenDoor has been identified as a new "meme stock," attracting speculative behavior. Such rapid increases may lead to profit-taking and subsequent pullbacks.

Tesla Motors, Inc.(TSLA.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 1.1%. The daily options trading volume reached 1.02 million contracts, an increase of 69,700 from the previous day, representing a 0.07-fold increase. The open interest is 7.57 million contracts. Bank of America Global Research raised Tesla's target price from $305 to $341, boosting investor confidence. Additionally, the upcoming second-quarter earnings report and the news of Tesla Model 3 reaching 3 million in global sales may positively impact the stock price.

NIO(NIO.US): Overnight, the stock surged by 10.84%. The daily options trading volume reached 600,000 contracts, tripling the 30-day average. The open interest is 3.82 million contracts. NIO's Chairman and CEO, William Li, announced on Weibo that starting July 23, the dynamic test drive experience for the NIO L90 will be available. NIO has set up nearly 600 test drive vehicles across 400 stores and showrooms in 140 cities. The L90 pre-sale began on July 10, with prices starting at 279,900 yuan for the full purchase and 193,900 yuan for the battery rental option. The vehicle will officially launch at the end of July, with deliveries starting on August 1.

Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 0.65%. The daily options trading volume reached 490,000 contracts, an increase of 48,100 from the previous day, representing a 0.11-fold increase. The open interest is 3.18 million contracts.

Robinhood(HOOD.US): Overnight, the stock fell by 2.39%. The daily options trading volume reached 450,000 contracts, a decrease of 40,000 from the previous day, representing a 0.08-fold decrease. The open interest is 2.11 million contracts.

PUT/CALL: Counts the percentage of open put and call option holdings for the listed stocks during the trading day.

Options Activity Tracking:

Macy's Inc(M.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 6.55%. The call option M_250725_C_13.5, with a strike price of $13.5 expiring on July 25, 2025, traded 15,900 contracts and increased by 900%.

Kohl's Corporation(KSS.US): Overnight, the stock surged by 37.62%, with significant activity in multiple call options.

• KSS 250725 C 17.5, with a strike price of $17.5 expiring on July 25, 2025, traded 36,400 contracts, increasing by 4350.0%.
• KSS 250725 C 15, with a strike price of $15.0 expiring on July 25, 2025, traded 21,300 contracts, soaring by 13400.0%.

Despite a lack of substantial news, Kohl's stock doubled at one point after opening, reaching a 10-month high of $21.23, triggering a trading halt. Although gains later eased, the stock still closed up 38% at $14.34. Trading volume was extremely high, reaching 183 million shares, about 25 times its 25-day moving average. Analysts widely believe retail investors drove this surge on Reddit. As retail buying pressured short sellers to cover positions, a "short squeeze" effect further propelled the stock upward.

IonQ(IONQ.US): Overnight, the stock fell by 5.6%. The call option IONQ 250725 C 45.5, with a strike price of $45.5 expiring on July 25, 2025, traded 30,900 contracts, decreasing by 74.19%.

Elevance Health(ELV.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 1.91%. The call option ELV 190925 C 290, with a strike price of $290.0 expiring on September 19, 2025, traded 12,200 contracts, increasing by 7.14%.

vol/oi: The ratio of options volume to the number of open positions in the contract, with higher vol/oi indicating that the market is creating an abnormal number of new positions.

Option IV Unusual Movements:

Kohl's Corporation(KSS.US) experienced a significant surge, rising by 37%. The options trading volume reached 4.41 million contracts, with an implied volatility (IV) of 156.02%.

High IV stocks:

Source: Barchart, data as of Eastern Time, July 22, 2025.

Read More: A quick look at the pros and cons of index options!

Note: Implied volatility estimates the expected fluctuation of a stock's price and is derived from the cost of its options. High and low levels of implied volatility signify market sentiment and option supply and demand dynamics. Feeding into an option's premium, implied volatility, time value, and directional movement embody the core aspects influencing option pricing. Traders navigate their strategies within this three-dimensional framework.

Volume reflects the aggregate volume of options contracts executed in a single day.

IV Rank gauges the standing of the current implied volatility within the highest and lowest values observed over the past year, serving as a relative measure.

IV Percentile denotes the proportion of days during the past year when the implied volatility was lower than the present rate, providing a statistical norm.

IV Yearly High marks the apex of an option's implied volatility recorded within the preceding year, signaling its peak uncertainty or risk