YOLO Brigade Is in Retreat With Down Days in Stocks Piling Up

  • U.S. call option volumes slip from records earlier this year
  • Frenzied derivatives trading spurred volatility in tech shares
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A mini-skid in the S&P 500 is coinciding with a more serious development in the market’s underbelly: desertion by its fiercest bulls.

The number of call options traded has slipped from the record highs notched earlier this year when stay-at-home traders piled into bullish bets. A daily average of 23 million contracts has changed hands on U.S. exchanges over the past five days -- down from more than 30 million in February.