Today's Options Market Update

Steadily rising crude prices finally got the market's attention this morning—along with increasingly bellicose words from President Trump—and stocks retreated from Wednesday's gains. It also didn't help that shares of Tesla (TSLA), IBM (IBM), and ServiceNow (NOW) descended in the wake of their earnings reports. ServiceNow took the hardest blow, falling nearly 14% and putting a negative spotlight back on the software sector following a firm rebound from early 2026 lows.

Crude oil climbed another 1% to nearly $94 per barrel earlier today before slipping just before the open. It's up almost $10 from last Friday's lows that occurred on optimism the Strait of Hormuz would re-open. That hasn't happened, jet fuel supplies in Europe are sliding, and a shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran keeps getting tested. And although 81% of S&P 500 firms reporting to date have topped Wall Street's earnings expectations, the war's impact showed up in results and commentary from some firms reporting yesterday and today. That, combined with perceived profit taking after Wednesday's rally, added weight to major indexes early.

Major indexes charged higher Wednesday, though action was bifurcated and volume was below normal. Checking data, there were positive notes today as weekly mortgage applications jumped and initial weekly jobless claims of 214,000 remained low. Still, Treasury yields ticked up this morning, another potential headwind for stocks.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is slightly lower to 4.288%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is higher by 0.01 to 98.60.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is higher by 0.76% to $93.67/barrel.

Gold prices have traded in a range of $4,700.00-4,771.30 and were last seen trading lower by ~0.09% to $4,748.70/oz.

Natural Gas prices for May futures have traded in a range of $2.595-2.74 today and were last seen trading lower by 4.26% to $2.606.

Bitcoin (BTC) is higher by ~0.37% over the last 24 hours to $78,481.04 today.

Shares of Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN + $44.06 to $280.37) are gapping up to all-time highs this morning after the chip maker reported Q1 EPS of $1.68 ($0.31 beat) on Q1 revenue that increased 18.58% year-over-year (YoY) to $4.825B (above the $4.525B expected). The company also issued upbeat guidance as Q2 GAAP EPS is expected to come in a range of $1.77-2.05 on Q2 revenue that is expected to come in a range of $5.0-5.4B versus the respective $1.57 & $4.859B consensus estimates. Calls are outnumbering puts nearly 2:1 with the May 15^th 230.00 call leading the way (volume is 4,015).

Also trading to the upside this morning is United Rentals Inc. (URI + $164.76 to $967.55) after the equipment rental company reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $9.71 ($0.74 beat) on Q1 revenue that increased 7.15% YoY to $3.985B (above the $3.87B expected). Looking ahead, the company raised its full-year 2026 sales guidance to a range of $16.90-17.40B (from $16.80-17.30B) versus the $17.057B FactSet consensus estimate. Calls are outnumbering puts ~3:2 with the September 18^th 900.00 call seeing the most action from traders (volume is 224).

New 52-week highs (171 new highs today): Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT + $6.36 to $409.84), Bloom Energy Corp. (BE + $10.55 to $240.30), Caterpillar Inc. (CAT + $30.14 to $839.01)

Some unusual call activity (~24:1 calls over puts) is being seen in Entergy Corp. (ETR + $3.11 to $113.58) which is primarily being driven by activity on the May 15^th 120.00 call. Volume on this contract is 3,303 versus open interest of 588, so we know that the volume primarily represents fresh positioning. The bulk of the transactions consisted of various-sized blocks that were bought at various times for between $0.85- 0.90 each, which suggests bullish intent. ETR is scheduled to report Q1 earnings on April 29^th before the bell, so this positioning captures the potential impact of that event.

Shares of ServiceNow Inc. (NOW - $16.61 to $86.46) are under pressure this morning after the provider of cloud-based digital workflow solutions beat quarterly estimates but provided lackluster guidance and warned that the Middle East conflict could impact deal timing. NOW reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $0.97 ($0.01 beat) on Q1 revenue that increased 22% YoY to $3.77B (above the $3.74B consensus estimate). Regarding guidance, the company guided full-year subscription revenue to a range of $15.74-15.78B (below the $15.98B FactSet consensus estimate) and said that the recent acquisition of cybersecurity startup Armis will result in a 75 basis point headwind to operating margin for the full year. Calls are outnumbering puts ~3:2 with the May 15^th 95.00 call being the highest volume contract (volume is 7,713).

Also trading to the downside this morning is International Business Machines Corp. (IBM - $20.95 to $230.91) even though the IT services provider beat quarterly estimates last night after the bell. The company reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.91 ($0.10 beat) on Q1 revenue that increased 9.46% YoY to $15.917B (above the $15.623B consensus estimate). IBM’s Q1 software revenue came in at $7.05B (above the $6.98B expected) with Q1 consulting revenue coming in at $5.27B (in-line with estimates).  Calls are outnumbering puts ~3:2 with the May 15^th 240.00 call leading the way (volume is 3,176).

New 52-week lows (65 new lows today): Abbott Laboratories Inc. (ABT - $0.40 to $91.30), Blackline Inc. (BL - $2.47 to $29.26), Danaher Corp. (DHR - $8.04 to $176.00)

Some unusual put activity (~4:1 puts over calls) is being seen in business consulting provider Hasbro Inc. (HAS + $7.47 to $98.08) which is primarily driven by a 4,000 contract block that was bought on the June 18^th 95.00 put at the ask price of $4.90 (open interest is 31). We know that this block is a new position based on the open interest figure, and we can assume that the intent is bearish in nature since the trade took place at the ask price.

FIGS Inc. (FIGS + $0.40 to $15.87): Option volume is running at ~42x the daily average on this healthcare apparel and lifestyle company as option traders primarily target the May 15th 17.50 call. Volume on this contract is 8,882 versus open interest of 579, so we know that the volume primarily represents fresh positioning. The activity included two large block trades – a 2,630 contract block was bought for $0.85 and (around the same time) a 2,630 contract block was bought for $0.80 when the bud/ask spread was $0.55 x $1.00. We know that these blocks are new positions based on the open interest figure and we can assume the intent is bullish in nature since both trades took place above the midpoint of the bid/ask spread. FIGS is slated to report Q1 earnings on May 7^th after the bell, so this positioning captures the potential impact of that event.

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SNDX - $0.73 to $21.35): Option volume is running at ~20x the daily average on this commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company which is primarily being driven by a couple of large blocks that simultaneously traded on the June 18^th expiration earlier this morning:

• 24.00 call (open interest is 22): A 1,500 contract block was bought for $1.90 when the bid/ask spread was $1.30 x $2.00.
• 30.00 call (open interest is 2): A 1,500 contract block was sold for $0.43 when the bid/ask spread was $0.25 x $1.10.

We know that both these blocks are new positions based on the respective open interest figures, and it appears that a $6.00-wide bull call spread was established for a net debit of $1.47 (x 1,500 contracts x 100 multiplier, excluding commissions). The positioning suggests that the block trader believes that SNDX will close above the break-even price of $25.47 at expiration.

Garrett Motion Inc. (GTX + $0.38 to $20.72): Option volume is running at ~10x the daily average on this automobile component maker which is primarily driven by a 2,000 contract block that was bought on the May 15^th 22.00 call at the ask price of $0.50 (open interest is 27). We know that this block is a new position based on the open interest figure, and we can assume that the intent is bullish in nature since the trade took place at the ask price.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX + 0.13 to 19.05) has been on both sides of the unchanged line today (the intraday range is 18.70-20.28), as equity markets are lower around the midday mark (DJI - 112, SPX - 5, $COMP - 72). VIX option volume is below average today at 176,449 contracts, and calls are slightly outnumbering puts so far today.