All week, stock traders have shrugged off everything from hot inflation data in the US to another recession-threatening hike in interest rates over in Europe.
One player to watch: Dealers on the other side of options transactions who are obliged to buy and sell stocks to maintain a market-neutral stance. A shift in their stock exposure, known by esoteric concepts like gamma, was cited as fueling the August selloff and is now blamed for this month’s inertia.
ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW Going by seasonal patterns, next week is ominous for stock bulls. Since 1990, the S&P 500 has fallen in the week following September’s triple witching 79% of the time, losing an average 1% in all instances.