US stock market hits new highs, triggering fear of missing out, institutions increase call options and hedge risks

The demand for call options on 170 stocks in the S&P 500 index exceeded the demand for oscillation options, with the difference reaching a new high since 2016. Scott Rubner stated that the pursuit of upward momentum is approaching historical highs. Steve Sosnick stated that investors retain the opportunity to participate in the uptrend by buying call options. The VIX index has dropped to its lowest level since January this year, making the cost of protection against the decline lower. On Thursday, a large institutional investor invested $23.4 million in a put option portfolio, betting that the S&P 500 index would plummet 38% by December 18th. Institutions are participating in the market through call options and utilizing low-cost tail risk hedging.