The Dow Jones Industrials, Russell 2000 and S&P 500 indexes spent the day and closed in positive territory while the Nasdaq closed lower. However, all markets saw increased volatility toward the end of the trading day when protestors entered the US Capitol building, interrupting the Electoral College proceedings that had been in progress. The E-mini S&P 500 futures price wound up about .5% higher while implied volatility in the options market, which had been trading lower all day, increased with the unrest in Washington DC.
WTI Crude Oil futures prices continued to rise, up about 1.5% as were Natural Gas futures prices. CME Group Soybeans futures prices also rose again, up another 1.25% and are up about 20% in the last month. Soybean 30-day implied volatility remains elevated at over 30%. Gold and Silver futures prices declined today by 2.4% and 2% respectively as the US Dollar gained against most major currencies. Finally, US Treasury futures prices declined, indicating higher yields, particularly at the long end of the curve as the US Bond futures price was down by about 2 points and the Ultra T-Bond futures price was down by about 4 points.
Taking a closer look at the Soybean markets, the bright green line in the QuikStrike graph below that depicts February implied volatility at this time of year from 2015 until present, shows just how elevated implied is currently trading.
Craig Bewick has spent 25 years in futures and options markets, starting at CBOT and CME working in risk management, regulatory, technology, product management and client development.
After 8.5 years with WH Trading LLC, Craig returned to CME Group as the Director, Client Development and Sales, working to educate and promote futures trading. Craig currently writes for InFocus Options Corner.
Connect with Craig at activetrader@cmegroup.com