SpotGamma founder Brent Kochuba joins Jack Forehand to break down September options expiration, the S&P 500's negative gamma risk, and what options positioning reveals about potential stock market volatility. They explore how rising oil prices, higher Treasury yields, and shifting AI sentiment could interact with a major expiration to change the market's direction.

Brent explains why he measures this expiration at roughly $2 trillion rather than the $9 trillion making headlines, why he is watching the S&P 500's 7,600 level, and how falling technology stock volatility changes the opportunity set for options.

Brent Kochuba on Twitter
https://x.com/brentkochuba

SpotGamma
https://spotgamma.com

Topics covered:

• How growing options volume and market maker hedging influence underlying stock prices.

• Why options expiration can change market trends and volatility as existing hedges unwind.

• The difference between headline options notional and SpotGamma's roughly $2 trillion delta-adjusted expiration estimate.

• What August's technology reset and Jackson Hole reaction reveal about investor positioning.

• How cheaper AI models, falling token prices, and public backlash complicate the technology investment story.

• Why declining semiconductor volatility and changing dispersion point to a potential market inflection.

• How negative gamma below S&P 7,600 could amplify selling, with 7,350 emerging as another level to watch.

• Why positive gamma in individual stocks could offset some of the index market's instability.

• How rising oil prices, Treasury yields, and stock correlations could challenge AI optimism and traditional stock-bond diversification.

• What CPI, the Fed meeting, VIX expiration, and midterm elections mean for hedging demand and options pricing.

Timestamps:
00:00 Why Brent sees downside risk near market highs
05:19 Bessent's "I'm the house" comment meets rising yields
10:38 Options exchange growth and the bear market question
15:29 Why OPEX changes market behavior and how to measure its size
20:40 What August's tech reset and Jackson Hole revealed
24:43 Can AI earnings overcome rising macro risks?
30:14 The tech wedge, falling semiconductor volatility, and gamma risk
35:20 How expiration could reduce negative gamma exposure
39:21 Oil, Treasury yields, and stock correlations move together
44:22 Why the reason interest rates rise matters for stocks
49:48 Election hedges, Fed uncertainty, and returning put demand
54:43 S&P 7,600 and positioning for volatility in either direction

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No information discussed in this podcast should be construed as investment advice. Securities discussed may be held by the hosts and guests, their firms or their clients.