Day Trading the SPX: Iron Condors

Earnings Week

Welcome to another critical earnings week. That will likely provide a lot of opportunity in the market between earnings trades and movement in the indexes.

This week, we will see reports from:

  • Amazon (AMZN)
  • Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI)
  • Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
  • Etsy (ETSY)
  • Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)
  • Coinbase (COIN)
  • Cloudflare (NET)
  • Apple (AAPL)
  • …& more!

This means we have another opportunity for the Nasdaq to recover, but will it? I’m not convinced. Either way, we will have many trading opportunities…

0 DTE SPX

One method I use to trade the indexes that works well during earnings season is day trading the SPX using 0 DTE options the last hour before the market closes. During this time, the market is moving based on an anticipated earnings result or staying stagnant because it’s waiting on a critical company to report. In either scenario, there is an options trade you can use so long as the trade sets up and you’re able to determine with a reasonable degree of confidence which one that is.

Directional or Neutral

The key is identifying if it is a neutral or directional move. I do this by using the market internals to identify the feel at the end of the day. At that point, I determine key strikes for a neutral trade or targets for a directional trade.

In the example below, I day traded the SPX using a neutral iron condor for the last 25 minutes of the day as the market was stagnant and waiting on some big news after the market closed. This trade was good for a quick $450 before the market closed.

Check out my Trade Review video to learn more about utilizing this strategy on a choppy day!

P.S. To join me in the Simpler Central trading room, click this link to learn more about our $1 trial! 

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