“In fact, intraday volume on the chip ETF was last seen at a fresh 52-week high of 169,337 contracts. The majority of these have been puts, which have already tripled their average daily volume. New positions are being opened at the August 95 put, the most popular option today, but it’s not clear whether the puts were bought or sold,” according to Schaeffer’s.
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To be fair, there was also strong call activity in SMH’s May 106 calls.
“Worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to total $401.4 billion in 2017, an increase of 16.8 percent from 2016,” according to Gartner, Inc. “This will be the first time semiconductor revenue has surpassed $400 billion. The market reached the $300 billion milestone seven years ago, in 2010, and surpassed $200 billion in 2000.”
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