(Reader note: Options Action will have live coverage of how to trade Alphabet and Microsoft heading into their earnings after the bell with Options Action contributors Mike Khouw and Brent Kochuba, so check back later today at 2:30 p.m. ET)
The market's mini rally faces a key test after the bell when tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft report. The technical set-up and options expectations could not be more different.
In Alphabet, the ratio is 0.72, the highest since August, but Tuesday's options flows cast a more positive light. Of the 435,000 options traded, 312,00 were calls, with almost 102,000 call trades likely initiated by buyers, versus just 54,000 by sellers and the remaining near the mid-price, Cboe data show.Some of the heaviest call-buying in Alphabet was at the 360-strike for January expiry, where it looked like a single trader bought around $18.5 million of calls across eight transactions of 2,850 contracts each, SpotGamma data show.
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