One place to read the three ETFs that drive most options trading: who is in control, what is moving them, where the important price levels are, and what would need to happen before calls or puts make sense. Built to teach you how to read the market โ not to tell you what to buy.
Prices are real trades. Moving averages, VWAP and relative volume are calculated from them. The coloured label is a rule-based reading you can open up and check below.
Three scenarios side by side. Each one lists what has to happen first and what would prove it wrong. If the "wait" list has several flags lit, that is the answer.
Eight checks, each scored +1 (bullish), 0 (no lean) or โ1 (bearish). Three or more net points either way sets the bias. Confidence is Low, Medium or High depending on how much of the evidence agrees โ it is not a win rate.
Levels are places price has reacted before, or that many traders watch. Treat them as areas, not exact lines โ price often pokes through by a few cents before deciding.
SPY is large companies, QQQ is mostly big technology, IWM is small companies. When all three agree, a move has broad support. When they split, something is uneven.
An ETF moves because the stocks inside it move. A stock's pull on the ETF is its weight in the fund multiplied by how far it moved โ so a giant company that is flat matters less than a mid-sized one that jumps.
Scheduled events that can move all three ETFs at once. All times are Eastern. Good news can sink stocks and bad news can lift them โ it depends on what the number means for interest rates and what was already expected.
The same evidence at three zoom levels. Each view says what would make it bullish, bearish or neutral โ and what would change the assessment.
Everything above is about the ETF itself. This is separate: what the options market looks like for each one. It is delayed data and it does not recommend a contract.
SPY, QQQ and IWM are the three most traded index ETFs, and most short-term options volume sits in them. Reading them together tells you more than reading any one alone. A simple routine:
It tracks SPY, QQQ and IWM in one place: price, VWAP, moving averages, support and resistance levels, which of the three is leading, the companies moving each ETF, upcoming economic releases, and what would need to happen before a calls or puts setup makes sense.
Prices are real-time trades from the IEX exchange, supplied by Alpaca. IEX is one exchange rather than the whole US market, so volume figures are IEX-only. Options figures come from CBOE and are delayed 15 to 20 minutes. Every section shows its source and timestamp.
From price history: the previous day's high, low and close, the premarket range, the first 15 minutes of trading (the opening range), VWAP, the 9 and 20 EMA, the 50 and 200 day SMA, last week's and last month's highs and lows, and zones where price has turned at least twice in recent months.
SPY is large US companies, QQQ is mostly big technology, and IWM is small companies. When all three move the same way, a move has broad participation. When they split, for example SPY and QQQ rising while IWM falls, the market is uneven and a directional trade deserves more caution.
No. It shows whether conditions lean bullish, bearish or neutral, lists what would have to happen first, and says what would prove the idea wrong. It never picks a strike or expiry and it is not a prediction or investment advice.
Low, Medium or High describes how much of the evidence agrees: trend, VWAP, momentum, volume, levels, relative strength and confirmation from the other ETFs. It is not a win rate and has not been back-tested. Missing or stale data, or a major economic release within 24 hours, lowers it.
Yes. The Market Intelligence Center is free for everyone and needs no account.