Retail Traders Bet Against Stocks, Signaling Deeper Downturn
- Small-lot volumes, premiums continued to slide amid selloff
- Retail is not ‘buying the dip’ in options, Susquehanna says
This article is for subscribers only.
As the first half of 2022 shapes up to be one of the worst on record for financial markets, retail investors have been boosting their bets on a further downturn in US equities.
Metrics to gauge retail activity in the options markets, including small-lots trading and put buying, suggest that not only are small investors sticking to the sidelines as shares slump, but have been loading up on wagers that benefit should they continue to decline.