SPY 680 Call Leads Options Market With 190,320 Contracts—Majority of Flow Comes From Sellers and Large Traders

A surge in trading volume on SPY's 680 strike call—accounting for 6.5% of all SPY options today—reflects intense intraday activity. Most contracts were sold, with large traders making up 53% of the flow as the option price plunged from $1.61 at the open to $0.35 by late morning. Explore what this means for SPY direction and trader sentiment.
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This morning’s action on SPY options delivered a striking headline: The Dec-17-25 680 call—expiring today—saw an enormous 190,320 contracts traded by 11:00 AM. That’s 6.5% of SPY’s entire option volume for the day, focused on a single contract set to expire by the close. Even more eye-catching, this heavy flow tilted slightly toward the sell side, with 54.3% of trades executed at the bid versus 45.7% bought at the ask. Meanwhile, large and professional accounts made up 53% of this action, signaling institutional fingerprints on today’s move.

Option Price Drops 76% Intraday—Are Traders Betting Against a Late-Day Rally?

After opening at $1.61, the 680 call quickly fell to a low of $0.32, before ticking up slightly to the current $0.35—down more than 76% from its open and nearly 77% below the prior close of $1.51. While SPY’s underlying price bounced between $675.60 and $680.44 during this period, it never managed to break above the 680 strike, leaving these contracts squarely out-of-the-money as expiration approaches. With a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $1.07, most trades occurred while the option still held a shot at finishing in the money.

Option Contract	Volume	% of SPY Option Volume	Open Interest*	% Bought	% Sold	% Large/Pro	VWAP ($)	Price Range ($)
Dec-17-25 680 Call	190,320	6.5%	16,187*	45.7%	54.3%	53%	1.07	0.32 – 1.97

*Open interest from prior settlement, not reflecting today's trades.

Slightly Bearish Sentiment: Institutions Appear to Lead Sell Side as Open Interest Surges Overnight

Large and professional traders took a small majority (53%) of the flow, while open interest as of this morning stood at 16,187—up by 14,133 contracts from the previous day’s settlement. While today’s intraday trading hasn’t hit open interest yet, the previous surge suggests heightened institutional engagement in SPY’s at-the-money calls. With most of today’s volume sold into the market and a sharp drop in option prices, this may reflect expectations of SPY staying under $680 by the close.

Market Takeaways: Risk-Control and Fading Hopes on 0 DTE Rally

SPY’s current price at $675.91 leaves little room for a 0 DTE option to land in-the-money, unless the ETF stages a meaningful rally in the last hours of trading. The surge in volume—much of it executed by large, likely sophisticated accounts—and the high proportion of sales at the bid, point to defensive posturing and perhaps opportunistic selling by traders not anticipating a late-day breakout. If SPY does manage a close above 680, this option could suddenly return to life; but as things stand, the weight of order flow and collapsing premiums signal more doubt than optimism for bulls today.

For traders watching intraday dynamics or considering the potential for a short gamma squeeze into the close, today’s option activity underscores just how quickly sentiment can shift—and why 0 DTE trades often become a race against the clock. Will the institutional sellers have the last word, or could late volatility force a rethink? As always with options, the next few hours may hold surprises the data can only hint at for now.

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