Today's Options Market Update

(Editor's note: U.S. markets are closed Friday, July 3, in observance of the U.S. Independence Day holiday. The Options Market Update will return on Monday, July 6.)

Major stock indexes rose before the open after a disappointing jobs report, which showed only 57,000 jobs were created last month, about half the number expected. The Federal Reserve will now watch to see whether falling energy prices sap some of the inflationary pressures currently driving prices higher.

"This should allow the Fed to take a patient approach to any shift in its policy over the next few months, seeing how the incoming economic data comes in rather than rushing to a decision to hike," said Collin Martin, head of fixed income research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR). Markets will be closed tomorrow for the Independence Day holiday and will reopen Monday, which looks to be a quiet day with little in the way of major earnings reports or economic data due out. One exception: the June ISM Services PMI^®.

On Wednesday, the major indexes fell—the Dow only barely—to kick off the second half of the year. Meta (META) stock surged after Bloomberg reported that the company planned to enter the cloud business and sell access to AI computing power, while AI infrastructure companies CoreWeave (CRWV) and Nebius Group (NBIS) plummeted, helping drag the Nasdaq lower. Chipmakers also fell. Still, a majority of S&P 500 stocks—and sectors—rose on the day, a further sign of market rotation.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is unchanged at 4.48%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is down by 0.55%, trading at 100.84.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is higher today by 1.80%, trading at 16.86.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is lower by 0.48% to $68.25/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is higher by 2.86% to $61,900.

Ethereum (ETH) is higher by 5.03% to $1,702.

Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN + $1.51 to $18.69) is up more than 8% today after the electric vehicle maker raised its full-year delivery outlook. Rivian now expects to deliver 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles this year, above the roughly 63,000 expected by Wall Street analysts. The company also reported second-quarter deliveries of 12,194 vehicles, topping estimates and improving from 10,365 deliveries in the March quarter and 10,661 in the year-ago period.

Rivian attributed the second-quarter performance to sequential growth of delivery vans and R1 electric sports utility vehicles, along with R2 SUV deliveries. The R2 SUV is seen as an important step toward broadening Rivian's market reach and improving its path to profitability. The model is smaller and less expensive than the company's flagship R1 truck and SUV, with early versions starting near $58,000. Rivian has said lower-priced entry-level versions are expected late next year, per Bloomberg.

Option trading in RIVN currently stands at 298,790 contracts, 5x average with calls outpacing puts 3:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• July 2nd, 2026, 20.00 call accounted for 25,044 contracts; open interest is 3,513 contracts.
• July 2nd, 2026, 19.00 call accounted for 15,020 contracts; open interest is 4,781 contracts.
• July 2nd, 2026, 19.50call accounted for 14,011 contracts; open interest is 1,742 contracts.

New 52-week highs (336 new highs today): Moderna Inc. (MRNA + $4.82 to $77.31), Olaplex Holdings Inc. (OLPX + $0.02 to $2.07), CSX Corp. (CSX + $0.33 to $48.66), Oscar Health Inc. (OSCR + $0.28 to $32.18)

Call activity is elevated in Shift4 Payments Inc. (FOUR + $2.00 to $51.20) today, with 6,199 calls traded—12x average volume and 30x put volume. Roughly 80% of the flow is concentrated in the July 17th, 2026, 60.00 call. While trading has been two-way, the larger orders have come on the sell side, with prices ranging from $0.30 to $0.40 at the bid. Shares of FOUR have rallied more than 45% over the past three weeks after setting a 52-week low of $34.56 on June 11th. Traders may be fading the move as the stock approaches its 200-day simple moving average near $58.00—a level it has not traded above since last August.

Call activity is also elevated in Re/Max Holdings Inc. (RMAX + $0.46 to $10.90) today, with 3,905 calls traded—49x average volume and 1,000x put volume. Most of the flow is concentrated in the July 17th, 2026, 12.50 call, where more than 3,600 contracts have traded across multiple blocks, mostly on the sell side. Prices have ranged from $0.15 to $0.20 and printed at or near the bid throughout the morning. With open interest at 327 contracts, much of the activity appears to represent new positioning and suggests neutral-to-bearish intent. Shares of RMAX have doubled over the past three months and are approaching their 52-week high of $11.62. Today's activity may signal skepticism that the stock will extend meaningfully beyond that level in the coming weeks.

Shares of Sandisk Inc. (SNDK - $267.22 to $1,765.00) are down more than 13% today and are threatening to close below the 21-day EMA for the first time since late March, as profit-taking continues across high-momentum artificial intelligence hardware and memory chip stocks. The move follows a sharp bout of volatility in SNDK, with shares down 25% over the past 11 days and now in bear-market territory. Sandisk entered the week up more than 756% year-to-date and nearly 4,298% over the past year, so today's weakness appears consistent with profit-taking after an extended run. Even with the recent pullback, the RSI remains near 47, suggesting the stock has not yet reached oversold territory.

The pullback comes despite positive longer-term projections from Wall Street. On Wednesday, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a Buy rating on Sandisk and raised his price target from $2,100 to $2,500, per Bloomberg. In his note, Mohan wrote, "We expect supply/demand imbalance in the NAND market to remain through 2027, and pricing should hold up through mid-2027."

Mohan modeled $9.1 billion in revenue and $37.01 in earnings per share for the June quarter, above both consensus estimates and company guidance of $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion in revenue.

Option trading in SNDK currently stands at 211,701 contracts, 3x the average daily volume with calls and puts basically even. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• July 2nd, 2026, 2000.00 call accounted for 6,052 contracts; open interest is 1,177 contracts.
• July 2nd, 2026, 1700.00 put accounted for 6,458 contracts; open interest is 5,221 contracts.
• July 2nd, 2026, 1950.00 call accounted for 5,680 contracts; open interest is 370 contracts.

New 52-week lows (25 new lows today): Tenon Medical Inc. (TNON - $0.05 to $0.28), AT&T Inc. (T - $0.34 to $20.14), Telus Corp. (TU - $0.34 to $10.18), Mattel Inc. (MAT - $0.41 to $13.33)

Unusual put activity is showing up in Ross Stores Inc. (ROST + $0.87 to $212.77) today, with 4,429 puts traded—20x average volume and 70x call volume. Nearly all of the flow is concentrated in the August 7th, 2026, 195.00 put, where traders sold multiple large blocks totaling 4,420 contracts. The puts traded at $1.55, slightly above the $1.25 bid and well below the $2.65 ask. With open interest at just seven contracts, the activity appears to represent new positioning and suggests neutral-to-bullish intent. Shares of ROST are down roughly 13% over the past three weeks after hitting a 52-week high of $242.81 following a solid earnings beat in late May.

Unusual put activity is showing up in the State Street Industrial Select SPDR ETF (XLI - $0.03 to $183.33) today, with 189,079 puts traded—92x average volume and 95x call volume. Most of the flow is concentrated in the September 18th, 2026, expiration after traders bought 50,000 of the 165.00/155.00 put vertical spreads, totaling 100,000 contracts. The spread traded for $0.73 when the bid/ask was $0.08 x $1.07, pricing above the midpoint. Based on open interest, the trade appears to represent traders rolling protective put positions up to the higher 165.00 strike. That suggests bearish or defensive intent, as traders may be looking to hedge at a higher strike level. With XLI up nearly 35% year-to-date and trading well above its major moving averages, the activity may reflect an effort to protect gains in long underlying positions.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX + 0.26 to 16.85) is up slightly today, as equity markets are mixed this morning, led by the Dow Jones (DJI + 388, SPX + 4, COMPX - 133). VIX movement has occurred within a wider range today (the intraday range is 15.79 to 17.05). The highest volume contract is currently the August 19th, 2026, 24.00 call (volume is 50,170 vs. open interest of 148,981).