Put Buyers Target Chip Wreckage After AI Rout

Bearish options bets flooded semiconductor desks this week. The Nasdaq 100 fell 6.4% in a single session, and options traders responded with heavy put positioning across the AI trade.

NVDA sits at the top of negative bets by volume. Its 14-day RSI dropped to 25, deeply oversold territory. AMD and INTC show RSIs of 29 and 20 respectively. All three carry dense open interest at the November 20 expiry, the first standard monthly close after last week's selloff.

MU draws particular attention. Its RSI of 27 sits alongside a 7-day negative bets score ranking among the highest in the market. Analysts show 137% return potential on the stock, suggesting a wide gap between where bears are positioned and where fundamentals point.

Sentiment turned brighter elsewhere. ORTEX screening flags MAR and ABNB with elevated bullish options scores this week. That fits the macro backdrop: US nonfarm payrolls hit a record October high since 1997, reaching 159,293 thousand. Average hourly earnings climbed to $38.00. Strong labour data supports consumer spending on travel and leisure.

MRNA also attracted call interest ahead of its MSCI World addition, which ORTEX's Index Rebalance Radar forecasts at 88% probability and $6.4 billion of forced buying.

CRWV faces a harder read. The CoreWeave AI infrastructure name appeared on bearish screens as the broader AI trade unwound. Its nearest liquid expiry cluster sits at November 27.

The key battleground remains chips. If the selloff stabilises, the deep-oversold RSI readings across semis could trigger sharp call-side reversals heading into December.