Put/call ratio

Last updated

In finance the put/call ratio (or put-call ratio, PCR) is a technical indicator demonstrating investor sentiment. [1] The ratio represents a proportion between all the put options and all the call options purchased on any given day. The put/call ratio can be calculated for any individual stock, as well as for any index, or can be aggregated. [2] For example, CBOE Volume and Put/Call Ratio data is compiled for the convenience of site visitors. [3]

Contents

Readings

Generally, a lower reading (~0.6) of the ratio reflects a bullish sentiment among investors as they buy more calls, anticipating an uptrend. Conversely, a higher reading (~1.02) of the ratio indicates a bearish sentiment in the market. However, the ratio is considered to be a contrarian indicator, so that an extreme reading above 1.0 is actually a bullish signal and vice versa. [2]

The lowest level of the index was 0.39x, set in March 2000 at the peak of the dot-com bubble. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

A market trend is a perceived tendency of the financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. Analysts classify these trends as secular for long time-frames, primary for medium time-frames, and secondary for short time-frames. Traders attempt to identify market trends using technical analysis, a framework which characterizes market trends as predictable price tendencies within the market when price reaches support and resistance levels, varying over time.

In finance, technical analysis is an analysis methodology for analysing and forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. As a type of active management, it stands in contradiction to much of modern portfolio theory. The efficacy of technical analysis is disputed by the efficient-market hypothesis, which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable, and research on whether technical analysis offers any benefit has produced mixed results. It is distinguished from fundamental analysis, which considers a company's financial statements, health, and the overall state of the market and economy.

In finance, a put or put option is a derivative instrument in financial markets that gives the holder the right to sell an asset, at a specified price, by a specified date to the writer of the put. The purchase of a put option is interpreted as a negative sentiment about the future value of the underlying stock. The term "put" comes from the fact that the owner has the right to "put up for sale" the stock or index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrant (finance)</span> Security that entitles the holder to buy stock

In finance, a warrant is a security that entitles the holder to buy or sell stock, typically the stock of the issuing company, at a fixed price called the exercise price.

The relative strength index (RSI) is a technical indicator used in the analysis of financial markets. It is intended to chart the current and historical strength or weakness of a stock or market based on the closing prices of a recent trading period. The indicator should not be confused with relative strength.

Greed and fear refer to two opposing emotional states theorized as factors causing the unpredictability and volatility of the stock market, and irrational market behavior inconsistent with the efficient-market hypothesis. Greed and fear relate to an old Wall Street saying: "financial markets are driven by two powerful emotions – greed and fear."

Contrarian investing is an investment strategy that is characterized by purchasing and selling in contrast to the prevailing sentiment of the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market sentiment</span> General attitude of investors to market price development

Market sentiment, also known as investor attention, is the general prevailing attitude of investors as to anticipated price development in a market. This attitude is the accumulation of a variety of fundamental and technical factors, including price history, economic reports, seasonal factors, and national and world events. If investors expect upward price movement in the stock market, the sentiment is said to be bullish. On the contrary, if the market sentiment is bearish, most investors expect downward price movement. Market participants who maintain a static sentiment, regardless of market conditions, are described as permabulls and permabears respectively. Market sentiment is usually considered as a contrarian indicator: what most people expect is a good thing to bet against. Market sentiment is used because it is believed to be a good predictor of market moves, especially when it is more extreme. Very bearish sentiment is usually followed by the market going up more than normal, and vice versa. A bull market refers to a sustained period of either realized or expected price rises, whereas a bear market is used to describe when an index or stock has fallen 20% or more from a recent high for a sustained length of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VIX</span> Volatility index

VIX is the ticker symbol and the popular name for the Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index, a popular measure of the stock market's expectation of volatility based on S&P 500 index options. It is calculated and disseminated on a real-time basis by the CBOE, and is often referred to as the fear index or fear gauge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covered option</span> Stock options trading strategy

A covered option is a financial transaction in which the holder of securities sells a type of financial options contract known as a "call" or a "put" against stock that they own or are shorting. The seller of a covered option receives compensation, or "premium", for this transaction, which can limit losses; however, the act of selling a covered option also limits their profit potential to the upside. One covered option is sold for every hundred shares the seller wishes to cover.

Option strategies are the simultaneous, and often mixed, buying or selling of one or more options that differ in one or more of the options' variables. Call options, simply known as Calls, give the buyer a right to buy a particular stock at that option's strike price. Opposite to that are Put options, simply known as Puts, which give the buyer the right to sell a particular stock at the option's strike price. This is often done to gain exposure to a specific type of opportunity or risk while eliminating other risks as part of a trading strategy. A very straightforward strategy might simply be the buying or selling of a single option; however, option strategies often refer to a combination of simultaneous buying and or selling of options.

In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the holder, the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified date, depending on the style of the option. Options are typically acquired by purchase, as a form of compensation, or as part of a complex financial transaction. Thus, they are also a form of asset and have a valuation that may depend on a complex relationship between underlying asset price, time until expiration, market volatility, the risk-free rate of interest, and the strike price of the option. Options may be traded between private parties in over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, or they may be exchange-traded in live, public markets in the form of standardized contracts.

The CBOE S&P DJIA BuyWrite Index is a benchmark index designed to show the hypothetical performance of a portfolio that engages in a buy-write strategy on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TrimTabs Investment Research</span>

TrimTabs Investment Research, Inc. is a leading independent institutional research firm focused on equity market liquidity based in Sausalito, California.

The CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index is a benchmark index that measures the performance of a hypothetical portfolio that sells S&P 500 Index (SPX) put options against collateralized cash reserves held in a money market account.

Advisors Sentiment survey is a field of market sentiment. Advisors Sentiment was devised by Abe Cohen of Chartcraft in 1963 and is still operated by Chartcraft, now under their brand name of Investors Intelligence. The survey surveys independent investment newsletters. Findings are reported weekly as the percentage of advisors that are bullish, bearish and those that expect a correction. The survey is anecdotal evidence as to extremes in investor confidence, conditions that are often seen at major market turning points.

The Acertus Market Sentiment Indicator (AMSI) is a stock market sentiment indicator that generates monthly sentiment indications ranging from 0 to 100. The indicator views sentiment as a continuum with anxiety and complacency representing less extreme and nuanced forms of fear and greed, respectively. Generally, a lower reading reflects a market sentiment of fear, while readings of 20-40 represent anxiety. Conversely, a higher reading (>80) suggests significant greed, while readings of 60-80 represent complacency.

Jason Goepfert is an American researcher and columnist focused on the development of behavioral finance. Prior to founding Sundial Capital Research, he was the manager of back office operations for Deephaven Capital Management, a Minnesota-based hedge fund, and Wells Fargo's online brokerage unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cboe Global Markets</span> American company

Cboe Global Markets is an American company that owns the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the stock exchange operator BATS Global Markets.

The Buffett indicator is a valuation multiple used to assess how expensive or cheap the aggregate stock market is at a given point in time. It was proposed as a metric by investor Warren Buffett in 2001, who called it "probably the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment", and its modern form compares the capitalization of the US Wilshire 5000 index to US GDP. It is widely followed by the financial media as a valuation measure for the US market in both its absolute, and de-trended forms.

References

  1. Put–Call Ratio
  2. 1 2 3 Ponciano, Jonathan (12 February 2021). "Is The Stock Market About To Crash?". Forbes . Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  3. "Historical Data". www.cboe.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.