IWM

goldenlamp

IWM down 2% lol

sloanemonroe

I gave up on trying puts an IWM yesterday. Pretty cool.

enc-nyc

lost 700 today because of stupid IWM. oh well. anyway. only good things ahead, like 24 inches of snow. adios.

JayRoo83

Just stupid OTM 0 DTE calls on SPY and IWM

enc-nyc

too late IWM too fucking late... if you go to 268 in 30 minutes it's another story, obviously

JayRoo83

Heaven help me but I just bought IWM calls

Gdap1992

Aight where the IWM ballers at

Metacog_Drivel

aight IWM, you gotta bounce man. For fucks sake

svpa3991

IWM telling me I am fuk. No wonder my positions can’t catch a green candle today

Waiting4Reccession

IWM having almost a -2% day today is too funny. The Ol' reliable of the market.

enc-nyc

oh well IWM spoiled a good week for me, no hope for 267 so I'm fucked

DarthOniichan

IWM up several days in a row. All markets seem primed to pump. Now the fuckers decide to dump

brannock_

it is definitionally the collective of stocks that aren't good enough to be in S&P why would you ever try to be long IWM? if you think some stocks within the IWM index are going to do well, then invest in these stocks, not these stocks + all the other crappy stocks in IWM

Metacog_Drivel

IWM melting. What a fucked up day

JayRoo83

Somebody tell IWM?

EyeSea7923

I shoulda know the boys were targeting max pain on IWM. Smh

spudbro00

wtf happened to IWM today lol

EyeSea7923

Now we wait for IWM to recover from the morning mayhem.

---Right--Tackle---

Mega caps are the new small caps. Get ready for SPY to do absolutely nothing for 3+ years, similar to IWM 2021-2025

ispooler

Rotation to IWM

EvolvingDior

Yeah. IWM up the same.

Sick0h

Sell NVDA, buy IWM

spudbro00

Umm do you not see how much IWM and commodities are up

Comprehensive-Law293

One of these days, those giant IWM red candles, aren’t going to just get bought up in seconds. They’re going to stay red.

Comprehensive-Law293

Lmfao. Here goes the IWM fake red candles again. Jesus Christ. How can EVERY giant red candle turn green. How.

Comprehensive-Law293

Hate being a miserable spiteful bear; but I want to see the IWM collapse so bad. The money can go into spy. That can pump! But I want to see IWM flip sooooo bad.

itsnotshade

IWM going up 10% in a month. No way this keeps pumping rest of the year.

sloanemonroe

God I hate IWM

jnjapoker

I wonder when IWM is going to have a bad day.. it’s been relentlessly leading the market. When market dumps it doesn’t dump & when it pumps, it PUMPS. When will money leave it? Who knows.

MrMcjibblets1990

Man, IWM calls were the way to go the past month... Still upside there?

mathboom123

Its just call easy on IWM

oldbeancam

IWM is 👑

sloanemonroe

Up 55% on IWM puts bought today and 85% on oracle puts bought today. Sold.

No-Improvement3164

Looks like Bull in Gold Silver MU SNDK IWM.

Roxorek

IWM 300 🧲

Roxorek

IWM new ATH after ATH UP ONLY 📈📈

TWSTrader

>**Viewing this from an institutional lens...** ignore the "Turnberry Deal" suspension. That is just political theater. The market largely expected that deal to die the moment the tariff tweet went out Saturday. The real "Black Swan" in this article—and the thing that should actually scare you—is the **"Anti-Coercion Instrument" (ACI).** Most retail traders have never heard of this because it has never been used. It was designed for China, but pointing it at the US is a massive escalation. Here is why the ACI is infinitely more dangerous than standard tariffs: **1. The "Nuclear Option": IP Stripping** Standard trade wars are about taxes (Tariffs). The ACI is about **Property Rights.** * **The Threat:** The article mentions *"lifting of intellectual property protections."* * **The Impact:** If the EU invokes this, they could theoretically tell European generic drug makers, *"Go ahead and copy Pfizer and Merck's drugs; we will ignore the patents."* Or tell European tech firms they can ignore US software licenses. * **The Trade:** This stops being a "Soybean/Farmer" problem and becomes a **Big Tech / Big Pharma** problem. **2. The "Asymmetric Warfare" of the ACI** The EU knows they can't win a tariff war (The US buys more from them than they buy from us). So, the ACI allows them to target **Services and Capital**, not just Goods. * *Investment Restrictions:* Blocking US Private Equity from buying EU assets. * *Procurement Bans:* Banning Microsoft or Amazon AWS from bidding on European government cloud contracts. **My Take:** Watch the language coming out of Thursday's meeting. * If they stick to **"Retaliatory Tariffs"** (Bourbon/Harleys): **Buy the Dip.** That is standard playbook stuff. The market knows how to digest it. * If they officially invoke the **ACI (The Bazooka)**: **Short the QQQ and XLV (Healthcare).** * US Tech and Pharma valuations are built on global IP protection. If that cracks, the premium evaporates. **The Timeline:** The EU moves at the speed of bureaucracy. They meet Thursday. Implementation takes weeks. You have time to hedge. Look at **Puts on US Multi-nationals** with >30% revenue from Europe, and rotate into **Domestic Small Caps (IWM)** or **US Defense (ITA)**, which are immune to European regulators.

TacticalTackleBox

Speaking of, I've found that price action on IWM is far more predictable than price action on SPY. SPY is great, don't get me wrong, but IWM seems to have far fewer sweeps.

brucekeller

oh IWM sneakily hit ATH today while bers were berrin'.

Ok-Analysis4121

I was holding 6 IWM $267cs expiring today. They went from $2 a contract to $125 a contract in 5 minutes. Sometimes you just get Lucky

Roxorek

IWM can't stop won't stop 300 🧲🧲🧲

Roxorek

IWM at ATH bulls too strong

Roxorek

full send IWM to 300

Excellent-Mud2091

Got an above expectations at work and saw IWM skyrocketed. God is good

Roxorek

IWM smashing ATHs

UsedState7381

I like how, in this low-volume situation, we can see MSOS chart mirroring IWM's almost 1:1, except for the fucking fact that we dump whenever we gets pumps up, whereas IWM holds them steady for the day.

Key_Abroad7633

So no one is mentioning this IWM rip? Up 2% in an hour

i_like_debt

Unpopular opinion, but IWM is more fun to trade than SPY.

LiveMotivation

Been saying this!! End year will read “Year of IWM”

Roxorek

all about IWM nowadays SPY/QQQ sooooo much weaker

sloanemonroe

IWM needs to get real

Roxorek

IWM new ath today? crazy strength

konglongjiqiche

The us market has been rotating since September's rate cut. That doesn't mean dump us stocks in general, it means be cautious with mag7. Problem is the international markets have already taken their big gains (Korea?!). So international has its own risks and US is worth considering because of perennial strength of US consumer. Setting metals and financials aside, look at the sectors that have taken off: biotech, healthcare, oil services, even agribusiness. And we know it's late cycle because just in the last few weeks we see Consumer Staples. RSP and IWM are at all time highs but I imagine they will also be the first to decline before any big crash. (Bias, I hold CL, PG, MDLZ)

TWSTrader

**Institutional background here (14 years).** This is the **"Retaliation Leg"** of the trade war algorithm. To answer your question: The market usually reacts to this type of news in three distinct phases. **Phase 1: The "Headline Algo" Shock (Pre-Market/Open)** * **Reaction:** Algos scan keywords: "Suspend," "Escalation," "Trade War." * **Result:** Futures gap down. The **DAX** (German Index) and **CAC** (French Index) will likely lead the drop, dragging US Futures with them. * **The Trade:** Expect an immediate spike in the **VIX** and a flight to the **Dollar (DXY)**. Paradoxically, bad news for US trade often pushes the Dollar *up* (Safety trade), which hurts US multi-nationals even more (FX headwinds). **Phase 2: The "Priced In" Calculation (Mid-Day)** * Institutional desks will ask: *"Does suspending this deal actually change cash flows Q1?"* * **The Reality:** A "suspended approval" is a political delay, not an economic tariff. It is a "Freeze," not a "Tax." * If the market already dumped \~2% on the Tariff threat (the "Rumor"), the suspension of the deal (the "News") might actually be the **Near-Term Bottom.** The market hates uncertainty. Knowing the deal is dead is "Certainty." **Phase 3: The Sector Rotation** Smart money won't just "sell everything." They will rotate. * **Sell:** US Multi-nationals with high European exposure (McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Apple, Tesla). If the EU retaliates, they target "Swing State" goods (Bourbon, Harleys) and Big Tech. * **Buy:** **Domestic US Small Caps (IWM)**. Why? A company that sells insulation in Ohio doesn't care if the EU suspends a trade deal. They are insulated from the Geopolitics. **My Take:** Watch the **EUR/USD** currency pair. * If the Euro *crashes* on this news, it means the market thinks Europe loses more than the US. * If the Euro *rallies*, it means the market thinks the EU has leverage. Don't panic sell into the headline. This is "Diplomatic Posturing" (The stick), not "Economic Destruction" (The stone). Not yet.

sloanemonroe

IWM trying to catch up on the downside

ispooler

IWM is a safe heaven, unimpacted by stupid tariffs

fire_alarmist

IWM is apparently good as gold, better even. The leader of the free world and US economy is US small business, except... they are literally all closing down and no one can name a single company in the Russell 2000 kek. Nonsensical market just AI drawing whatever lines increase zero's in the MM bank accounts lol.

fire_alarmist

The absolute desperate attempts to keep this market afloat with the continued Sandisk/Mu/IWM short squeezes is kinda funny lol. You can only squeeze the sharts for so long MM's.

Gom_KBull

K style economy with short date Tbill injection leads me to think IWM and RSP will see more growth for short-medium term than SPY/QQQ... my ongoing thesis

Roxorek

IWM still so much more bullish than spy/qqq

tldamico

Like an idiot, I bought a couple JAN 21 IWM $260 puts on Friday, knowing I'd likely eat theta all weekend and be screwed. They were just a couple of lotto tickets. Looks like those puts may have a chance.

sloanemonroe

I have a huge amount of interest in making a LOT of money today. Already have IWM puts that I bought at close on Friday.

95Daphne

If this dip is not bought, this was just a trigger for tech to start leading the way lower instead of us spinning our wheels with IWM trying to drag it higher.

SuspiciousStuff3

IWM about to have a 5% down day the way bonds are selling off 

TWSTrader

**14 years in the institutional space here.** If I had to bet my entire net worth on wheeling one ticker for 10 years, I would never choose a single company. I would choose **IWM** (The Russell 2000 ETF). Here is the institutional logic why: 1. **Idiosyncratic Risk:** Even a "safe" company like $O can suffer from a bad CEO, a fraud scandal, or a structural shift in commercial real estate. If you wheel a single stock, you risk a "drawdown to zero." An index cannot go bankrupt. 2. **The Premium Trap:** The problem with wheeling defensive stocks like $O is that the volatility is too low. You aren't getting paid enough premium to justify the risk of assignment. 3. **The "Sweet Spot":** IWM is the perfect middle ground. It is volatile enough (Small Caps) to pay juicy premiums, but it is diversified enough (2,000 companies) that one bad earnings report won't blow up your account. If you are playing the "Forever Game," you trade the Market, not the Stock.

Mihermano2002

Did the same but with IWM

Theodore_Blake

!banbet IWM -5.0% 5D

pmotiveforce

I'm going to be cocky as fuck, counting all my money on defense stocks, SPY/IWM puts, and gold/silver I'm going to make, tonight. Then, tomorrow, I'm going to wake up having somehow lost $15k and SPY will be at +.24% somehow. I will buy 0dte puts, SPY will go down a tiny bit by EOD and I will make $200 on them and I will consider it an epic victory. It's all just so...tiresome.

Opening-Run5871

nothing wrong with going 100% VOO (or any other SP500 equivalent) If you want even more diversified $IWM is top 2000 companies if you want a little more high risk (but still well diversified) $QQQ is top 100 companies. For something a little more conservative yo could look at a Dividend ETF like $SCHD

MrStonks94

Sweet sweet money, IWM drop 3% I’ll be up around 60k

ispooler

QQQ and SPY menstruation red, IWM might pump as it's mostly unaffected by tariffs war

ispooler

Because small caps are safe heaven, Greenland tariffs are a direct hit to QQQ, IWM companies are tariff-proof as they are domestic

usernamealreadyt_ken

Iran and Greenland are pretty tame non issues. Plus IWM deals with mainly US based stocks (least international exposure vs QQQ). May the ghost of MLK be with you.

Got_Engineers

There’s been a long dispersion trade placed on the market and it’s caused a very low correlation amongst stocks and has caused all the major indices other than IWM to be pinned. The markets have sold index options and bought single stock calls so they are short gamma. One of the main reasons why all of these space stocks and nonprofitable tech has been doing so well lately specifically after the start of January. Volatility has been pinned because of this very large strangle that has been placed on the market. The top upper bound has stayed the same, but the lower bound keeps compressing getting tighter and tighter. Like if you look at QQQ on a one hour chart, you could see that in an ascending triangle right now And we’re basically at the tip. If you look at a 1W chart of QQQ it’s even more pronounced right now. ask ChatGPT what a long / short dispersion trade is and it’s been traded as of all asset class among institutions.

95Daphne

IWM having been on fire lately is a bugaboo to this thesis, as at some point, it's going to pull back, and for now, I do NOT think the tech lag/dip gets bot. Tech likely leads the way lower on the reopen Tuesday, and some of the stuff that has been on fire tries to do it again but fails because it's been too hot lately. The real problem will be the NVDA news.

FuckleUp

Let’s see I have $800 in call swings - RIVN and ARM - and $260 in IWM puts. Totally dumb but might be ok 😂

Virtual-Resident-875

Update: How my spread strategy has evolved + what happens when things go south I’ve been refining my options framework for a while now, and since a few people asked what I do when trades go bad, here’s a quick update. The basics are the same: defined-risk credit spreads on SPY, QQQ, and IWM. Entries around 35–45 DTE, exits near 50–70 % profit or about 14 DTE. I never hold to expiration, never roll for income, and never stack risk in the same direction. The biggest change is patience. I don’t chase fills anymore. I set GTC limit orders outside current price and let the trade come to me. If it doesn’t fill, that’s fine—no trade is better than a forced one. I’d rather collect credit on my terms. You’ll see both call and put spreads staged, but they’re independent, not an iron condor. I’ll take whichever side gets the move and cancel the other. Keeping buying power free gives me flexibility and breathing room. So what if things go south? If price drifts near my short strike, I wait—time decay still works in my favor. If I’m clearly wrong, I close the trade and take the defined loss. No rolling, no revenge trades, no doubling down. The focus now is staying mechanical, keeping risk small, and letting time and volatility do the heavy lifting. The goal isn’t to win every week—it’s to stay in the game long enough for probability to pay you.

Comprehensive-Law293

IWM doesn’t do anything but pump. & yeah all these meme stocks don’t stop ripping

Unlucky_Subject_252

I love IWM shi prints

LitterBoxServant

That's why there are 1.5m+ options traded on IWM on a given day. It's like SPY or QQQ for true sickos.

95Daphne

I don't see it, but the main issue is that IWM's RSI is through the sky and the Nasdaq looks cooked until probably after the band aid is ripped off with a deeper dip. The latest issue was another H200 thing with NVDA chips. Tech likely leads lower on Tuesday.

FuckleUp

Hedged calls with IWM put swings - 0% gain is still a gain

music_is_gud

I'm starting to think SOY will never hit 700 and QQQ 630. IWM will go to infinity and we all die

Realistic-Ad-6257

**Is anyone else watching the massive rollover in Money Market Funds (MMF) this week?** 🤔 It looks like the "Recession Fear" trade is finally unwinding. Gold is stalling, but **Small Caps ($IWM)** are quietly breaking out to multi-year highs. That $7 Trillion on the sidelines seems to be finally chasing risk (Beta) instead of yield. I've started rotating heavily into Russell 2000 and AI infra this week. Are you guys still hiding in Mag 7 or starting to look at small caps?

pmotiveforce

IWM puts locked in for next Fri, 692P SPY locked in for wed. Let's wreck this shit.

sloanemonroe

Got some IWM puts for next Friday just in case shit goes down this weekend. I don’t see if going much higher if everything is calm either.

95Daphne

My suspicion is that when small caps are done with their business on the upside, the next step is going to be tech leading US markets lower for a few weeks instead of a rotation back with the way things seem. As this just isn't a good look, if we actually do try for even "$280" on IWM for ex, it's stretching things so hard in the opposite direction of summer 2024 that something is probably going to end up breaking. I know, I know, very unpopular take, much more popular to be like HAPPY HAPPY, JOY, JOY, we're going to get to 7800 easily on the SPX, but check this out: https://bsky.app/profile/ukarlewitz.bsky.social/post/3mbujyg6bx22p Breadth expansion likes to have a history of just ending in tears for the S&P.

jlw993

IWM overbought. Dip on high beta stocks incoming soon.

jlw993

IWM overbought. Dip on high beta stocks incoming soon.

tldamico

What strike price for those IWM puts?

EyeSea7923

I bought IWM puts through Tuesday and VIX 15c 4 weeks out. I just don't believe some BS doesn't happen.

jlw993

IWM over sold. Dip on high beta stocks incoming soon.

Roxorek

IWM ATH again, so much stronger than SPY and QQQ

Gdap1992

The IWM chart for the last 3 weeks makes me sick

Anchises1

IWM 300 when?

corndog_messiah

IWM puts I think he’s saying

Roxorek

IWM 🗿🟢

sloanemonroe

IWM is so goddamn stupid

chibi78

IWM last 10 min green candle is ridiculous. 0.50%

Ok_Structure1184

Yes. VBR or IWM. GOOD.