Today's Options Market Update

Tech shares swung higher today on a 1% pop from Nvidia (NVDA) early on, helped by encouraging earnings from its Asian supplier Foxconn. It was a sharp shift from 24 hours ago when Nvidia's weakness led tech lower, and the rest of the market also seemed primed for gains as risk-on sentiment returned after last week's discouraging dip.

The spotlight swings to Congress as the House prepares to vote this afternoon on an end to the shutdown. Republicans only have a slim majority. "House Speaker Mike Johnson can only lose two Republican votes on the bill to reopen the government," noted Michael Townsend, managing director, legislative and regulatory affairs at Schwab. "But it is expected that at least some moderate Democrats will support the measure, likely giving Johnson more wiggle room." Once the measure passes, President Trump is expected to quickly sign it, making it likely the government will be open by the end of the week, Townsend added.

Major indexes mostly climbed Tuesday despite Nvidia's stumble. Anyone tired of the roller coaster ride in chips might want to monitor the broader market, which strengthened yesterday as breadth widened on strong outings from health care and energy that helped send the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a new high. "The bulls have several potential drivers for fourth quarter upside, including bullish seasonality, performance chasing, and potentially another Fed cut in December," said Nathan Peterson, director of derivatives research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. "Also, with the S&P 500 index holding support at the 50-day simple moving average, traders have a line in the sand to trade against, so to speak."

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is lower by 2 bps 4.07%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is unchanged at 99.44.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is up 3.00% to 17.80.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is lower by 4.05% to $58.55/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is down by 1.34%, trading at $101,615.

Ethereum (ETH) is falling by 1.10% today to $3,404.

Shares of On Holding AG (ONON + $8.57 to $43.75) are up over 24.00%, the biggest intraday move since March 2023, after the shoemaker delivered a better-than-expected Q3 earnings report and boosted its sales and earnings forecasts for the year. On Holding announced Q3 sales rose to 794 million Swiss francs, up 35% from a year ago in constant currency terms. Revenue jumped 33% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 109% in the Asia-Pacific region, above estimates. Growth of about 21% in the Americas was just shy of expectations, per Bloomberg.

At the product level, footwear remains On's biggest revenue source, contributing upward of 90% of the company's Q3 sales. However, per the report, apparel and accessories are growing quickly. Apparel sales grew by just under 90% year over year last quarter, while accessories sales more than doubled, with both segments gaining traction among younger consumers.

Going forward, the company now sees revenue growing 34% this fiscal year on a constant currency basis, and expects its gross profit margin to reach 62.5%, up from the previous range of 60.5% to 61%, despite U.S. trade tariffs weighing on the sneaker industry. Both figures exceeded analyst estimates.

Option trading in ONON currently stands at 60,315 contracts, 9x the average daily volume with calls outpacing put 4:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• November 14th, 2025, 45.00 call accounted for 4,893 contracts; open interest is 5,819 contracts.
• January 16th, 2026, 45.00 call accounted for 3,781 contracts; open interest is 10,145 contracts.
• January 16th, 2026, 55.00 call accounted for 2,606 contracts; open interest is 8,969 contracts.

New 52-week highs (192 new highs today): Amgen Inc. (AMGN + $3.25 to $341.70), Lyft Inc. (LYFT + $0.75 to $24.93), Bank of America Corp. (BAC + $1.00 to $54.63), Barrick Mining Corp. (B + $1.47 to $37.28), FTC Solar Inc. (FTCI + $1.72 to $9.16)

Unusual call activity is noted today in the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN - $1.43 to $50.42), as call volume currently stands at 6,218 contracts, 11x the average daily volume and 400x the put volume. Activity is greatest in the December 19th, 2025, expiration month, specifically at the 54.00 strike where the calls have traded over 6,000 contracts through multiple block trades. While many of the trades have been two-sided, most of the action has been on the buy side with traders paying prices ranging from $1.85 to $2.00 each, primarily at the ask price. We can assume these are opening trades based on the open interest of seven contracts (suggesting bullish intent). Shares of TAN have more than doubled since posting an early April low price of $25.53.

Another name exhibiting unusual activity today is Wolfspeed Inc. (WOLF + $0.46 to $17.86), as call volume has spiked to 5,422 contracts in morning trading, 18x daily average. Most of the volume can be attributed to the March 20th, 2026, expiration, specifically at the 30.00 call strike. A single block trade to buy 3,738 contracts transacted at a price of $1.65 when the bid/ask was $1.15 x $1.65. Given the open interest was only 80 contracts, we can assume these were opening trades (suggesting bullish intent).  Shares of WOLF underwent a reverse stock split after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of September.

Shares of Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL - $9.34 to $88.95) are down over 9.00% today amid investor concern that declining interest rates would impact future returns, even after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 revenue and earnings. For Q3, Circle announced revenue increased to $740 million, or 66% YoY, exceeding the analyst estimate for $707.4 million, with net income from continuing operations at $214 million, or 64 cents a share.

The concern revolves around the decrease in Circle's reserve return rate which fell 96 basis points to 4.15% in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Circle earns most of its profit from the interest paid on US government securities that it holds in reserve to back its stablecoin, USDC. Circle announced plans to diversify its revenue stream, including a blockchain-based payments network and a tokenized money market fund, to combat revenue pressures from declining interest rates, per Bloomberg.

Option trading in CRCL currently stands at 195,028 contracts in morning trading, on pace for 5x the daily average, with calls outpacing puts by 1.5:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• November 14th, 2025, 90.00 put accounted for 13,513 contracts; open interest is 10,322 contracts.
• November 14th, 2025, 115.00 call accounted for 8,723 contracts; open interest is 9,327 contracts.
• December 19th, 2025, 155.00 call accounted for 5,998 contracts; open interest is 1,278 contracts.

New 52-week lows (39 new lows today): Clearmind Medicine Inc. (CMND - $0.15 to $0.31), Polestar Automotive Holding (PSNY - $0.14 to $0.66), Ecd Automotive Design Inc. (ECDA - $0.19 to $1.01), Bath & Body Works Inc. (BBWI - $0.27 to $21.80)

There is unusual put activity today in Monday.com Ltd. (MNDY - $5.97 to $159.21). This activity equates to over 5,076 put contracts, 4x average daily put volume. More than half of the volume can be attributed to a put calendar trade involving the November 21st, 2025, and the February 20th, 2026, expiration months, as traders rolled their short puts out an additional three months. The rolling calendar spread trade of 1,800 of the 135.00 puts (3,600 contracts in total) netted a credit for traders of $7.79, as they closed out short positions at the November 21st 135.00 strike and opened new short positions at the February 20th 135.00 strike. Traders will roll out short put positions if they believe the shares of likely to stay above that strike price through the new expiration. In this case, that is the February expiration. This suggests neutral to bullish intent.

Unusual activity has also been detected in Flour Corp. (FLR + $0.58 to $45.93), as put volume stands at 10,373 contracts in morning trading, 3x average daily volume. Traders bought 5,000 of the 45.00/42.50 strike put vertical spreads (10,000 total contracts) in the November 21st, 2025, expiration month, in a single block transaction. The price paid for the spread was $0.67 when the bid/ask was $0.30 x $0.85. Given the open interest, it's possible that traders could be closing out of their longs at the 42.50 strike and adding longs at the 45.00 strike. Flour reported earnings last Friday, and shares of FLR have vacillated around the $45.00 level ever since. That level also coincides with the 50-day SMA. It's possible these traders believe the stock could break below that level within the next week, setting up for some additional volatility.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX + 0.52 to 17.80) is up 3.00% in morning trading, as equity markets are mixed across the board (DJI + 402, SPX + 1, COMPX - 116). VIX movement has occurred within a narrow today (the intraday range is 17.10 – 18.06). The highest volume contract is currently the November 19th, 18.00 put (volume is 38,954 vs. open interest of 227,772).