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GEXBearishMarch 15, 20263 min read

GEX Report

The first weekly GEX snapshot shows SPY sitting in a negative gamma regime with spot near the 664 flip level, leaving the market vulnerable to amplified downside tests and fast regime shifts.

GEX (Gamma Exposure) measures how much options dealers need to hedge, and which direction that hedging pushes the market. Short gamma means hedging amplifies moves. Long gamma means it dampens them.

Key Takeaways

  1. Dealers are short gamma everywhere. Breakouts follow through. Fading is risky. The GEX flip at 664 is right at spot, so a rally above it could shift the whole regime.

  2. Put/call ratio of 1.96. Nearly 2x more puts than calls. The 660 strike acts as a floor on selloffs. On rallies, dealers unwinding puts have to buy shares back, fueling a squeeze.

  3. Near-term range: 660 to 685. Put wall at 660 (214K contracts) anchors the downside. Call wall at 685 caps rallies. Below 660, dealer selling accelerates.

  4. Puts are priced at a premium. IV skew of +10.9% (put IV 37% vs call IV 26%) confirms the market is braced for downside.

  5. OPEX pin risk: 70% of near-term OI expires 3/20. Price should gravitate toward 660-665 into Friday, then a vol release next week once those positions roll off.

Aggregate Dealer Positioning

NEGATIVE GAMMA
Gamma Wall660-0.6% from spot
GEX Flip664+0.0% from spot
Put/Call Ratio1.963

Dealers are short gamma across the board. Breakouts tend to be real, reversals are sharp. The GEX flip at 664 is right at spot, placing us on the boundary between regimes.

Key Levels

Key Price Levels

Support and resistance from dealer positioning (spot: 664)

700Quarterly Call Wall36 pts above spot43K OI
685Near-term Call Wall21 pts above spot72K OI
670Monthly Call Wall6 pts above spot29K OI
664Spot
664GEX Flipat spot
660Gamma Wall4 pts below spot
660Near-term Put Wall4 pts below spot214K OI
645Monthly Put Wall19 pts below spot104K OI
630Quarterly Put Wall34 pts below spot160K OI

660 is first support. 685 caps upside. If 660 breaks, next floors are 645 (monthly) and 630 (quarterly).

Weekly Range Call

  • Near-term Range: 660 - 685
  • Wider Support/Resist: 645 - 685
  • Bias: Negative gamma plus heavy put skew favors downside tests

Near-term (0-2w)

NEGATIVE

Near-term (0-2w)

2,152 contracts · 10 expiries · DTE 1-12
Expected Range660685
Put Wall660-0.6% from spot
Call Wall685+3.2% from spot
Gamma Wall660-0.6% from spot
Put/Call Ratio1.94

Open Interest by Strike

Put OI extends left, Call OI extends right — top 25 strikes by total OI

Puts are stacked at 660 and 645. Calls don't show up until 685-700. Below 660, dealer selling kicks in.

StrikeGEXMagnitudeInterpretation
660-207.3M
-0.6% below spot, support (put gamma)
645-150.9M
-2.9% below spot, support (put gamma)
650-99.9M
-2.1% below spot, support (put gamma)
655-59.6M
-1.4% below spot, support (put gamma)
640-58.9M
-3.6% below spot, support (put gamma)

Every major near-term strike has negative GEX, led by the 660 at -$207M. These are the levels where price stalls or accelerates.

Mar 20 · 70.1%PIN RISKMar 27 · 8.1%Mar 16 · 7.9%Mar 17 · 4.7%Mar 19 · 3.6%

The 3/20 expiration holds ~70% of near-term OI. Strong pin risk around 660-665 into Friday, with a vol release likely after OPEX.

Volume Flow

Today's most actively traded strikes

Heavy call volume today at 670 and 675, suggesting upside speculation or short covering. Put volume at 660 shows the floor is still actively hedged.

Monthly (2-6w)

NEGATIVE

Monthly (2-6w)

1,108 contracts · 5 expiries · DTE 16-40
Expected Range645670
Put Wall645-2.9% from spot
Call Wall670+0.9% from spot
Gamma Wall645-2.9% from spot
Put/Call Ratio2.00

Open Interest by Strike

Put OI extends left, Call OI extends right — top 25 strikes by total OI

Put wall drops to 645 (104K contracts), call wall at 670 (29K). The 2.00 P/C ratio is even more put-heavy than near-term. If 645 breaks, 630 is the next floor.

Quarterly (6-13w)

NEGATIVE

Quarterly (6-13w)

922 contracts · 5 expiries · DTE 46-95
Expected Range630700
Put Wall630-5.1% from spot
Call Wall700+5.4% from spot
Gamma Wall630-5.1% from spot
Put/Call Ratio1.99

Open Interest by Strike

Put OI extends left, Call OI extends right — top 25 strikes by total OI

Put wall at 630 (160K contracts) is the big line in the sand. Call wall at 700 (43K) is the structural ceiling. The 630-700 range captures where institutions have their hedges set.

Tug-of-War Zones

Strikes where puts and calls both have significant open interest. Small price moves here can flip dealer hedging direction, making price action choppy.

Tug-of-War Zones

Strikes with significant put and call OI — balance shows how evenly split

Tug-of-War Zones

Strikes with significant put and call OI — balance shows how evenly split

Tug-of-War Zones

Strikes with significant put and call OI — balance shows how evenly split