August 30, 2026 · Price Theory Research
Futures lean risk-on into the open
The pre-open brief: overnight markets, dealer positioning, early movers, insider filings and the prior session's options tape — one page, before the bell.
TL;DR
S&P futures are higher at +0.39%. VIX at 14.43 prices calm. SPY opens between the 760 put wall and the 785 call wall — those are the day’s magnets.
Everything below is generated from the same data our desk trades on: the overnight session, dealer positioning, the early movers, and the filings and options tape from the prior session.
Overnight & Futures
Levels are the overnight session against the prior settle, captured at 7:00 AM Central. Treasury yield and the dollar set the tone for rate-sensitive groups before the equity open.
| Market | Last | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P futures | 7,722.00 | +0.39% |
| Nasdaq futures | 29,491.75 | +0.73% |
| Russell futures | 2,977.50 | −1.22% |
| VIX | 14.43 | −8.96% |
| 10-yr yield | 4.720% | +0.34% |
| Dollar index | 99.68 | +0.77% |
| WTI crude | 83.40 | +1.26% |
| Gold | 4,529.9 | −2.33% |
| Bitcoin | 78,172 | −1.08% |
Dealer Positioning
Dealer positioning from listed options open interest. Heavy call strikes act as magnets-then-ceilings when spot trades below them; heavy put strikes mark where hedging flows tend to defend. The walls are the largest single-strike concentrations near the money.
SPY — open-interest profile
Spot 769.28 · call wall 785 (37,624 OI) · put wall 760 (37,007 OI) · pinned between the walls
QQQ — open-interest profile
Spot 716.91 · call wall 700 (32,950 OI) · put wall 700 (30,098 OI) · trading above its call wall — extended
Early Movers
The names moving on volume in the early tape. Gap continuation and gap fade both start from this list — what matters is which of these hold their opening range.
| Ticker | Price | Move |
|---|---|---|
| MIACW | 1.02 | +240.11% |
| GFAIW | 0.00 | +140.00% |
| FNGR | 0.40 | +129.53% |
| SAIHW | 0.06 | +97.50% |
| SWVLW | 0.01 | +75.61% |
| CHAI | 0.40 | +57.11% |
| WCT | 1.09 | +45.53% |
| CYAB | 0.45 | +45.36% |
| Ticker | Price | Move |
|---|---|---|
| BTAI | 0.18 | −74.76% |
| ASTLW | 0.00 | −67.00% |
| SCAGW | 0.01 | −58.97% |
| GIPRW | 0.01 | −54.33% |
| WETO | 5.72 | −50.26% |
| VISN | 6.06 | −47.89% |
| BCAB | 1.74 | −44.75% |
| ILLRW | 0.04 | −43.43% |
Earnings Radar
Drift book. Post-earnings drift positions our model is still tracking (10-session window from the report date).
| Ticker | Reported | Bias | Confidence | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INTU | 08-25 | Bearish | 57% | −3.4% |
| MRVL | 08-27 | Bearish | 53% | −1.5% |
| NVDA | 08-26 | Bearish | 53% | −1.6% |
Sector Posture
Communication leads over the window at +1.36%; Technology brings up the rear at −1.60%. Rotation, not direction, is usually the earlier tell.
| ETF | Sector | 1D | 5D | 21D | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLC | Communication | +1.36% | +0.57% | +4.40% | −3.4% |
| XLY | Discretionary | +1.15% | −0.91% | +1.01% | −1.0% |
| XLE | Energy | +0.63% | −0.74% | +5.24% | +37.3% |
| XLP | Staples | +0.39% | −2.30% | +0.44% | +9.9% |
| XLF | Financials | +0.35% | −0.20% | +2.04% | +5.7% |
| XLB | Materials | −0.14% | −0.75% | +5.48% | +15.3% |
| XLV | Health Care | −0.26% | −2.02% | +5.29% | +10.1% |
| XLRE | Real Estate | −0.40% | −1.96% | −1.31% | +10.1% |
| XLI | Industrials | −0.97% | −1.06% | −1.48% | +12.1% |
| XLU | Utilities | −1.02% | −1.13% | −3.65% | −1.1% |
| XLK | Technology | −1.60% | +3.10% | +5.92% | +28.6% |
Insider Tape
The freshest disclosed buys from corporate insiders and Congressional filers, sized by dollars committed. Filing-date entries retain most of the historical edge; scheduled 10b5-1 activity is labelled and should be discounted.
| Filer | Ticker | Trade date | Amount | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silverman David M | APH | 08-05 | $20,908,476 | EVP, Human Resources |
| Shellberg Jeffrey D. | BWB | 08-05 | $3,366,736 | Insider |
| Sullivan Don | CSW | 08-05 | $1,555,812 | EVP, Chief Strategy Officer |
| Blaylock Ronald E | PFE | 08-05 | $998,821 | Director |
| Buckley Mortimer J | PFE | 08-05 | $960,369 | Director |
| Harvey David C | CVBF | 08-05 | $917,680 | EVP Chief Operating Officer |
| Mcwatt Michael | NTB | 08-05 | $741,319 | Managing Director, Cayman |
Options Flow Recap
Our scanner watches the listed options tape in real time for sweeps and blocks hitting at the ask or the bid across the most liquid underlyings. Friday it flagged 914 qualifying prints, the largest a $4,174,169 single order. The live tape runs on the dashboard during market hours.
Levels
Prior-session and five-day extremes. The prior high and low are the first reference points for the open; the five-day range frames the swing.
| Index ETF | Last | Prior high | Prior low | 5-day high | 5-day low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | 769.35 | 775.30 | 768.31 | 775.30 | 762.08 |
| QQQ | 716.43 | 724.13 | 715.09 | 724.13 | 702.70 |
| IWM | 295.75 | 300.39 | 295.67 | 300.39 | 295.67 |
| DIA | 535.06 | 537.73 | 534.40 | 537.73 | 531.83 |
Bottom Line
The open belongs to whoever pre-committed. Futures are higher; the walls and prior-session levels above are the map. Take the trade only where a level and a catalyst agree — and size as if the first read is wrong.