Quadruple Witching Sparks Bursts of Trading Amid Options Anxiety
- Stock volume was 40% higher than the three-month average
- Options have been blamed for whipping up stock turbulence
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In a month during which the red-hot trade in technology stocks has wavered and options activity dominated headlines, traders just got jolted with a spike of trading volume and wild price swings.
Equity transactions surged Friday amid a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire. About 14 billion shares changed hands, roughly 40% above the three-month average. The S&P 500 tumbled almost 2% before paring the loss by half at the close.