9/25 : Defense Upgraded, Selective Longs Remain
1. What's Happening Today
Rates Side Leans Pressured, But Tech Sees Selective Catalysts.
TLT Falls for a Second Consecutive Day: Treasury yields continue rising, with the market repricing roughly 40bp of cumulative hikes this year. The probability of an October FOMC hike has risen to about 70%.
QQQ Rebounds, Crude Oil Pulls Back: The U.S. and Iran are discussing a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, easing energy supply risks.
AI Infrastructure Diverges: ORCL delayed payment arrangements for its Jupiter data center project, and ARM weakened on Jupiter order exposure. Anthropic signed a 7-year CPU capacity commitment with AKAM, lifting AKAM, INTC, and AMD.
IWM: Currently stuck at the 30-week MA. Watch today whether it retests the 60-week MA or reclaims the 30-week MA.
2. What Money Is Betting On / Defending Against
🟠 Buy Side: Insurance Upgraded from "Deep OTM Tail" to "At-the-Money "
-
SPY | 2026/10/16 768P | $10.16 million | Current price 764.60
$SPY 20261016 768.0 PUT$ Today's most important index defense trade. 768 is near the current price — the shift from deep OTM protection to at-the-money Puts indicates capital is willing to pay higher costs to guard against index declines. -
IGV | 2026/12/18 120C | $2.76 million | Current price 107.52
$IGV 20261218 120.0 CALL$ Betting on AI/software momentum continuing. Alongside the AI infrastructure catalysts from AKAM, INTC, and AMD, watch whether capital spreads from hardware to software. -
IWM | 9/30 285C | $1.05 million | Current price ~282
$IWM 20260930 285.0 CALL$ Near-month Call betting on a short-term small-cap rally. -
TLT | 9/28 80.5C | $588,000 | Current price 79.95
$TLT 20260928 80.5 CALL$ An ultra-short-term Call expiring next Monday, betting on a near-term yield pullback. Time decay is fast — the key is whether rates reverse quickly. -
ORCL | 10/30 110P | $1 million | Current price 137.54
$ORCL 20261030 110.0 PUT$ Deep OTM Put, corresponding to the Jupiter project delay news — leaning toward event-risk defense.
🟢 Sell Side: No Longer Capping Upside, Just Repairing the Floor
-
MSFT / C | Sell Puts
MSFT 11/6 440P$MSFT 20261106 440.0 PUT$ , C 10/23 119P $C 20261023 119.0 PUT$ — all collecting premium on the downside. Today there are no obvious Sell Call capping trades; sellers currently look more like they're repairing the floor rather than limiting upside.
3. Where to Watch the Relevant Tickers
SPY: 768 is today's most important defensive observation level. If the index weakens, watch whether 768 Put flows continue increasing; if defensive trades keep appearing, it signals hedging demand is still heating up.
IWM: The 30-week MA is the short-term dividing line. Reclaiming the 30-week MA would make the 285 Call bullish bet easier to validate; if it fails, watch for downside support near the 268 Put.
TLT: The block trade is betting on a short-term yield pullback. The 80.5 Call has only a few days to expiry — this trade is highly sensitive to rate changes. If yields continue rising, the Call's time value will decay rapidly.
IGV: Watch whether AI capital spreads from hardware to software. The IGV 120C is today's largest thematic Call. Alongside the AKAM/INTC/AMD news, watch whether the AI trade shows new sector expansion.
4. What to Watch Pre-Market Today
-
Broad Market: Whether SPY at-the-money Put defense continues.
-
Treasuries: Whether TLT can stabilize and whether yields continue rising.
-
Small Caps: IWM's 30-week MA outcome, and whether the 285C/268P structure is validated.
-
AI/Software: Whether the IGV Call can drive a software sector relay.
-
ORCL: Whether the Jupiter project delay continues to affect the AI infrastructure chain.
One-Sentence Read
Capital is shifting from "chasing upside" to "increasing defense": SPY buying at-the-money Puts, but sellers aren't simultaneously capping upside. Therefore, what really matters pre-market is whether defensive demand continues expanding, and whether selective longs like IWM/IGV can sustain.
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

