Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on December 17, 2025 in New York City, USA.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Wall Street could be in for a volatile weekend as traders brace for Goldman Sachs’ biggest option expiry on record.
Options expiration dates on short-term derivative contracts have become a monthly tradition on Wall Street. Friday is one of the rare days (four times a year) when options on four types of securities expire on the same day: index options, single stock options, index futures options, and index futures options. This day is called “Four Witch Day”.
More than $7.1 trillion in notional option exposures are set to expire this Friday, of which about $5 trillion is tied to crypto trading, according to Goldman. S&P500 $880 billion related to indexes and individual stocks. December options expirations are typically the largest of the year, but this one exceeds all previous records, the company said.
To put the scale in perspective, the options expiring on Friday represent a notional exposure equivalent to about 10.2% of the Russell 3000’s market capitalization, Goldman said.
This dynamic can lead to volatile trading, especially around high-profile levels in the S&P 500, said Jeff Kilberg, founder and CEO of KKM Financial.
“We expect volume to be well above normal as options traders lock in gains and losses in 2025,” Kilberg said. “However, it appears that a lot of the repositioning has already taken place. $6,800 is a big strike price for the S&P, and after taking the market above that level this morning, we will see if the bulls can defend that level.”
The S&P 500 is up about 15% since the beginning of the year, trading around 6,770 as of Thursday.
S&P 500 year-to-date index
While broader markets can lead to higher volume and volatility, some individual stocks with large open interest could see a different scenario. If an option trader who is hedging a position holds a large number of at-the-money options, the activity associated with these expiring contracts may actually dampen price movements rather than intensify them. An “at-the-money” option has a strike price equal to the current price of the underlying asset.
Goldman said that as traders adjust their hedges, prices can gravitate toward frequently traded strike levels, a phenomenon known as a “ping,” which can cause stocks to hover around key levels until the close.
“This situation is often referred to as a ‘ping’ and can be an ideal situation for large investors looking to enter and exit positions in stocks,” Goldman said.
Stocks that have options expiring on Friday, account for a high percentage of their normal daily trading volume, and are likely to be “pinned” include: Gene Dx Holdings, BILL Holdings, avis budget group and game stopthe company discovered.
