Yesterday, the market chopped around for most of the day after a huge run-up Wednesday. That was an encouraging sign for bulls. By late afternoon, the market rallied and it closed on its highs. Earlier in the day, initial jobless claims came in slightly better-than-expected and optimism ahead of the Unemployment Report surfaced. Even though 472,000 jobless claims were filed, traders were relieved that new claims have stopped rising. In recent weeks, initial jobless claims have spiked higher and that trend has stalled. Even if 200,000 jobs had been lost in August, I doubt the market would have sold off.…

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Stock Option Trading Education

• Option Strategy: Options are one of the most dynamic investment vehicles available to traders and investors. Option... read more
• Definition of Option Gamma: An Option Gamma measures the change in Delta for every one dollar change in the underlying price... read more
• Option Bid/Ask Spreads and Liquidity: The Option Bid/Ask Spread is the difference between the stock option bid price and the ask price.... read more
• Definition of Option Theta: An Option Theta measures the rate of decline in a stock option due to the passage of time. Theta... read more
• Option Expiration Month & Lifespan of Options: Options have a defined life and option traders select the duration that matches their forecast.... read more
• Strike or Exercise Price on Call Options: The strike price (exercise price) is the level at which the buyer of a call option can exercise... read more
• Options in the Money: A call option is where the strike price is lower than the current price of the stock is considered... read more
• Option Pricing Models - Black Scholes: The Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model is a financial model thatl was developed in 1973 by Fisher... read more
• Synthetic Put Position: Option traders often construct synthetic put positions to hedge their short stock positions. When... read more
• Options Listed on Multiple Exchanges: Multi-Listed Stock Optionsare stock that have options that are listed on more than one exchange.... read more
• Four-way Options Spreads: A 4-Way Option Spread is the same as an iron condor spread. The option strategy sells an out of... read more
• Intrinsic Value and Option Trading: For in-the-money call options, intrinsic value is the difference between the stock price and the... read more
• Option Trading for Investment, Speculation and Hedging: Option trading involves investors and speculators buying and selling stock options before they... read more
• Accelerated Time Decay: Accelerated Time Decay refers to options that have less than a month to maturity decay at an... read more
• Option Exercise Price: An option exercise price is the price level where the option starts to take on intrinsic value. It... read more
• 10 up Option Market Definition: Ten-up Option Market - Market Makers provide liquidity and they are members of the exchange. They... read more
• Time Premiums, Value and Volatility: A time premium is the amount by which the price of a stock option exceeds its intrinsic value. If... read more
• Definition of Option Vega: An Option Vega measures the change in the price of a stock option relative to a 1% change in... read more
• LEAP Options & Expiration Dates: LEAP stock options have more than six months until expiration. They can have a lifespan of up to... read more
• Call Options & Naked Call Writing: A call option gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying stock or... read more
• Parity and Stock Options: Stock Option Parity means that the stock option is trading at its intrinsic value. If a $100 call... read more
• Put Option & Equity Puts: A put option gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying stock or... read more
• Front Month Option Expiration: The nearest term stock option is referred to as the front month. In a four-week expiration cycle,... read more
• Index Options and Indices: Index options include baskets of stocks that are combined from group or sector indices. The most... read more
• When Options Trade at a Discount: An option that is trading below its intrinsic value is trading at a discount. For instance, a $50... read more
• Derivatives & Underlying Stock Option Value: A derivative in the context of finance is a contract whose value is dependent on another... read more
• Option Ask Definition: An option ask is the price an option seller wants to receive for the option. If the option is... read more
• Options At the Money: When the stock price is the same as the strike price an option is considered at the money. The... read more
• Iron Condors: An iron condor is typically a non-directional option spread where the trader sells an out of the... read more
• Definition of Option Delta: An option delta measures the change in the price of a stock option relative to the change in the... read more
• stock option contract: An option contract gives the buyer of the option the right, but not the obligation to buy (call)... read more
• Strategy for Synthetic Call Options: In a Synthetic Call Option, the investor can create a pseudo call position by buying puts that... read more
• Option Bid Definition: An option bid is the price an option buyer is willing to pay for the option. If the stock option... read more
• Options and Time Value: The Time Value of an Option is the amount by which the price of a stock option exceeds its... read more
• Back Month Options Expiration : Back month stock options have more than one month before they expire. They are slightly less... read more
• Option Premium Pricing and Intrinsive Values: An option premium is the price of the stock option. It is comprised of intrinsic value and time... read more
• Out of the Money (OTM) Options: A call option with a strike price that is much greater than the current stock price is considered... read more
• Butterfly Option Spreads: In a Butterfly Spreadstrategy, all of the expiration months are the same. A trader buys a call... read more
• Time Decay and Options: Stock options are a wasting asset. From the day you purchase them, their value goes down if the... read more
• Diagonal Option Spread: A Diagonal Spread is an option spread where the trader buys a longer-term option and sells a... read more
• Types of Option Spreads: An option spread is created when a trader simultaneously buys and sells options with different... read more
• Married Puts Options Strategy: In a married puts option strategy, the investor owns shares of stock and purchases an equal number... read more