Market Overview

By the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI.US) had fallen by 0.38%, closing at 40,368.96 points; the NASDAQ(IXIC.US) had decreased by 0.05%, ending at 16,823.17 points; and the S&P 500 index(SPX.US) had declined by 0.17%, finishing at 5,396.63 points.

Notably, the trading volume of VIX put options reached 544,300 contracts, while the trading volume of VIX call options was 814,100 contracts, resulting in a put/call ratio of approximately 0.67. This indicates a strong bullish sentiment among investors regarding the index. Specifically, the VIX call option VIX 160725 C 24 saw a trading volume of 10,500 contracts with a VOL/OI ratio of 40.93. This contract has a strike price of $24.00, and the price of this option fell by 5.15%.

Top 10 Options Trading Volume:

NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 1.35%. The total options trading volume for the day reached 2.5 million contracts, which is a decrease of 533,500 contracts from the previous day, representing a day-over-day decline of 0.18 times. The open interest stands at 22.83 million contracts.

• On the 15th, NVIDIA filed an 8-K report stating that the company received a notification from the U.S. government requiring a license for exporting H20 chips and chips meeting H20's memory bandwidth and interconnect bandwidth to countries including China. NVIDIA expects that in the first quarter, inventory, purchase commitments, and related reserve expenses associated with H20 products will amount to approximately $5.5 billion.

Tesla Motors, Inc.(TSLA.US): Overnight, the stock increased by 0.7%. The total options trading volume for the day reached 1.47 million contracts, a decrease of 297,900 contracts from the previous day, representing a day-over-day decline of 0.17 times. The open interest stands at 8.6 million contracts.

Palantir Technologies(PLTR.US): Overnight, the stock surged by 6.24%. The total options trading volume for the day reached 990,000 contracts, an increase of 262,600 contracts from the previous day, representing a day-over-day increase of 0.36 times. The open interest stands at 3.49 million contracts.

• The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) and Palantir have completed a procurement agreement for the NATO version of the Maven Smart System (MSS NATO), which will be deployed to the NATO Allied Command Operations (ACO). This AI-driven military system will enhance NATO's operational capabilities and accelerate decision-making processes. Following the announcement, Palantir's stock price soared, with multiple analysts being optimistic about its prospects. Additionally, the U.S. military has been using Palantir's Maven technology, having signed a nearly $100 million five-year contract extension last year.

Apple Inc.(AAPL.US): Overnight, the stock fell by 0.19%. The total options trading volume for the day reached 840,000 contracts, a decrease of 911,800 contracts from the previous day, representing a day-over-day decline of 0.52 times. The open interest stands at 5.52 million contracts.

Bank of America Corporation(BAC.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 3.6%. The total options trading volume for the day reached 390,000 contracts, an increase of 132,800 contracts from the previous day, representing a day-over-day increase of 0.51 times. Put options accounted for 35.47% of the total volume, while call options accounted for 64.53%. The open interest stands at 3.06 million contracts.

• The financial report shows that Bank of America's revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 was $27.4 billion, a year-over-year increase of 6.13%, compared to the expected $26.99 billion. Net profit was $7.396 billion, a year-over-year increase of 10.82%, compared to the expected $6.271 billion. Earnings per share were $0.90, compared to the expected $0.81. During the period, net interest income was $14.4 billion, a year-over-year increase of 3% and a quarter-over-quarter increase of 1%, accounting for 27.3% of revenue.

Intel Corporation(INTC.US): Overnight, the stock declined by 2.26%. The total options trading volume for the day reached 310,000 contracts, a decrease of 55,200 contracts from the previous day, representing a day-over-day decline of 0.15 times. The open interest stands at 5.89 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:

KeyCorp(KEY.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 1.35%. The put option KEY 160525 P 12, with a strike price of $12.0 and an expiration date of May 16, 2025, saw a trading volume of 33,100 contracts. The price of this option fell by 62.79%.

Juniper Networks, Inc.(JNPR.US): Overnight, the stock fell by 0.32%. The put option JNPR 160525 P 33, with a strike price of $33.0 and an expiration date of May 16, 2025, saw a trading volume of 16,500 contracts.

VERTIV HOLDINGS LLC(VRT.US): Overnight, the stock rose by 1.59%. The call option VRT 150127 C 230, with a strike price of $230.0 and an expiration date of January 15, 2027, saw a trading volume of 18,500 contracts. The price of this option increased by 60.0%, indicating that investors are betting on a long-term bullish trend for the stock.

Palantir Technologies(PLTR.US): Overnight, the stock surged by 6.24%. The put option PLTR 170425 P 98, with a strike price of $98.0 and an expiration date of April 17, 2025, saw a trading volume of 12,000 contracts. The price of this option fell by 65.68%.

Core Scientific Inc Ordinary Shares - New(CORZ.US): Overnight, the stock fell by 2.97%. The call option CORZ 250425 C 7.5, with a strike price of $7.5 and an expiration date of April 25, 2025, saw a trading volume of 7,600 contracts. The price of this option decreased by 48.15%.

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:

Rigetti Computing Inc Ordinary Shares(RGTI.US): Overnight, the stock fell by 2.7%. The total options trading volume for the day reached 37,700 contracts. The implied volatility rose to 120.24%.

High IV stocks:

Data source: Barchart, data as of April 15, 2025, Eastern Time.

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 price 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