Chips Drive Options Flow as Tech Selloff Bites

A tech-sector correction is reshaping options activity this week. Semiconductor names dominate positive bets lists as traders try to pick the bottom.

NVDA sits at the top of 7-day positive options bets, drawing call buyers despite a year-to-date gain of just 13.8%. RSI at 39 signals near-oversold territory. MU is close behind. It is up 200% year-to-date but its RSI has slid to 34.6, suggesting traders see a dip-buying opportunity.

AMD and INTC tell a similar story. Both show RSI readings below 37 amid heavy call flow. Analyst Tom Lee publicly called this selloff a "healthy correction" and pointed to a $30 trillion infrastructure build ahead. That commentary appears to have stirred bullish options positioning across the sector.

Taiwan's total export orders hit a record $114.2bn in September, the largest since 1984. Orders by product group reached $95.7bn. Both figures point to strong semiconductor demand at the supply chain level, giving some fundamental support to the call buyers in chip names.

On index mechanics, PCVX (Vaxcyte) sits on two index lines at once ahead of the October 30 Russell cut-off. A rise triggers $430M of buying. A fall triggers $1.2B of selling. Options traders watching that setup face a binary outcome within days.

MKC (McCormick) carries a 77% probability of MSCI World deletion with $735M of forced selling implied. FLUT (Flutter Entertainment) carries 61% odds and $615M. Both names could see protective put activity ahead of the November 11 announcement.

CG (Carlyle Group) rounds out the MSCI deletion watch at 69% probability and $608M of estimated selling flow.