The Tape
Tape was split on paper, not in money. QQQ caught the early bounce and that was it — in at 9:55 at $728.27, out at 11:15 at $728.91 for $0.63 in 80 minutes. Z3 didn’t show up until four bars later, so the trade was basically front-running its own confirmation and the capture ratio told the story. Nine percent. You got paid, barely.
SPY was the real tape trade. Put at 10:55 at $751.36, out at 12:15 at $749.32. That’s $2.04 in the same 80 minutes, with Z3 there at entry and the ride staying tight the whole way. Six percent capture, which tells you the move kept going lower than what got booked, but the read was right and it paid fast. That was the tape.
The Semis
This was where the day really lived. QCOM was the fastest clean hit in the room: 10:05 at $242.94, out 11:35 at $249.86, $6.92 in 90 minutes with a 45% control ratio. Tight, paid, done.
Then you had the longer money. MU was the biggest winner on the sheet — 9:50 at $857.22, out 3:40 at $908.70, $51.48 over 350 minutes. Z3 came five bars in and the thing never stopped acting right. AMD also stayed on all day. Entry 10:10 at $493.77, exit 3:55 at $503.95, $10.18 in 345 minutes. Different scale than MU, same idea: patience got paid.
On the put side, AVGO was the last trade standing. In at 10:40 at $433.32, out at the close at $421.42. $11.90 in 320 minutes and a 3% capture ratio, which tells you there was more there than what got taken. NVDA and MRVL were quicker downside checks — $3.33 in 95 minutes and $5.87 in 120.
SMCI paid $1.26, but it needed 215 minutes to do it. That’s not feeding the market maker, but it’s standing a little too long at the counter.
Big Tech
Put day showed up here the way it usually does — broad, steady, not much drama. TSLA was the fast one: short at 9:30 at $432.94, covered 10:35 at $429.29, $3.65 in 65 minutes. META wasn’t far behind, $5.18 in 105 minutes from 9:30 to 11:15, and it did it without Z3 ever activating. Same thing with TSLA. Price did the talking.
AAPL, MSFT, and AMZN all leaned lower for real money. AAPL held nearly the whole session and left at 3:55 with $3.14. MSFT gave $3.40 in 195 minutes. AMZN gave $3.56 in 240. PLTR was the only call with any size to it, $1.50 in 130 minutes. NFLX made eight cents in 50 minutes. That’s lunch money. Take it if you want, but don’t confuse it for a move.
Crypto
COIN did the job. Put at 10:20 at $186.33, out at 3:55 at $179.98, $6.35 in 300 minutes. Slow bleed lower, good for anyone who could sit still.
HOOD held 255 minutes for $1.00. The premium did the work — for the other side.
That was today. Puts had the real weight, semis had the real money, and anything weak that took too long told on itself by the close. Tomorrow you watch who still can’t bounce.