October 17, 2026 · Le Dossier
Futures point lower into the open
The pre-open brief: overnight markets, open-interest walls, early movers, insider filings and the prior session's options tape — one page, before the bell.
What matters this morning
The few things most likely to move your positions today, before anything else on this page.S&P futures are lower at −1.96%. VIX at 19.99 prices elevated risk. SPY opens between the 731 put wall and the 782 call wall — those are the day’s magnets.
Everything below is generated from the same data our desk trades on: the overnight session, open-interest walls, the early movers, and the filings and options tape from the prior session.
How the desk's Friday trades closed
Every trade the desk closed yesterday, with the entry price and the best level it reached.5 of 5 closed trades finished green on Friday.
| Trade | Book | Entry | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSLL 9.5C 2026-11-06 | daytrade | $0.73 | +27% |
| SPY 765C 2026-10-16 | daytrade | $1.10 | +21% |
| QQQ 720P 2026-10-16 | daytrade | $0.68 | +0% |
| SPY 770P 2026-10-16 | daytrade | $0.80 | +0% |
| QQQ 718P 2026-10-16 | daytrade | $1.14 | +0% |
Where futures moved overnight
Index futures against the prior settle, captured at 7:00 AM Central, with the yield and dollar backdrop that sets the tone for rate-sensitive groups.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 | 7,704.25 | −1.96% |
| Nasdaq futures | 29,391.50 | −4.88% |
| Russell futures | 2,735.50 | −2.73% |
| VIX | 19.99 | +31.43% |
| 10-yr yield | 5.098% | −2.71% |
| Dollar index | 101.78 | −0.78% |
| WTI crude | 99.02 | +5.63% |
| Gold | 4,181.1 | −0.23% |
| Bitcoin | 81,458 | −1.97% |
Where open interest concentrates
Where listed-options open interest concentrates. Price often stalls at the largest strikes and moves faster once it clears them; the hedging read is inferred from that OI, not measured.Open-interest concentration from listed options. This is where contracts sit, not a measurement of dealer books: whether that OI pins or propels price depends on who holds it, which no public feed shows. Heavy call strikes have often acted as magnets-then-ceilings when spot trades below them; heavy put strikes often mark where price has found buyers. The walls are the largest single-strike concentrations near the money.
SPY — open-interest profile
Spot 763.31 · call wall 782 (6,811 OI) · put wall 731 (18,226 OI) · pinned between the walls
QQQ — open-interest profile
Spot 710.20 · call wall 735 (9,833 OI) · put wall 700 (8,429 OI) · pinned between the walls
What is already moving pre-market
Names gapping before the open and the volume behind the move — who is in play before the bell rather than after it.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 |
|---|---|---|
| BCAT.RT | 0.00 | +133.33% |
| XLABW | 0.20 | +100.90% |
| OGGWZ | 0.03 | +98.68% |
| XLAB | 2.35 | +72.79% |
| LCFYW | 10.95 | +62.95% |
| NXGLW | 0.01 | +52.31% |
| AACG | 0.95 | +50.76% |
| EURKR | 0.40 | +50.02% |
| Ticker | Price | Move |
|---|---|---|
| MDXH | 0.21 | −65.77% |
| BEATW | 0.00 | −65.17% |
| GUTS | 1.55 | −62.74% |
| RBNE | 0.78 | −59.79% |
| RPGL | 6.89 | −48.31% |
| SMX | 1.89 | −47.50% |
| XXII | 0.34 | −46.59% |
| AIIA.RT | 0.08 | −42.29% |
Who reports today
Companies reporting before the open or after the close, with the estimates the street is working from.Drift book. Post-earnings drift positions our model is still tracking (10-session window from the report date).
| Ticker | Reported | Bias | Confidence | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAC | 10-14 | Bearish | 60% | −4.8% |
| WFC | 10-13 | Bearish | 56% | −3.1% |
| JPM | 10-13 | Bearish | 52% | −0.9% |
Which sectors are leading
Relative strength across the eleven sectors, so you can see where money is actually going rather than where the index went.Energy leads over the window at +2.53%; Technology brings up the rear at −3.02%. Rotation, not direction, is usually the earlier tell.
| ETF | Sector | 1D | 5D | 21D | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLE | Energy | +2.53% | +3.34% | +6.12% | +49.5% |
| XLU | Utilities | +1.41% | +1.43% | +2.74% | −2.3% |
| XLP | Staples | +1.13% | +3.83% | +5.81% | +12.8% |
| XLB | Materials | +0.65% | +2.98% | +1.84% | +10.4% |
| XLF | Financials | +0.47% | +0.82% | −0.66% | +1.0% |
| XLRE | Real Estate | +0.43% | +0.58% | −0.81% | +4.5% |
| XLI | Industrials | −0.04% | −0.82% | −1.18% | +6.2% |
| XLV | Health Care | −0.28% | +2.72% | +4.91% | +13.6% |
| XLY | Discretionary | −0.83% | +0.16% | +1.30% | −5.0% |
| XLC | Communication | −1.89% | −1.03% | −0.50% | −5.7% |
| XLK | Technology | −3.02% | −6.60% | −3.27% | +27.1% |
What insiders and Congress bought
The freshest disclosed buys from corporate insiders and Congressional filers, sized by dollars committed. Filing-date entries keep most of the historical edge.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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larson Keith D | VG | 10-15 · 2 days ago | $4,842,463 | General Counsel and Secretary |
| Cha Albert | FLSC | 10-15 · 2 days ago | $3,000,000 | Chief Executive Officer |
| Khan Nick | TKO | 10-15 · 2 days ago | $1,609,821 | 10b5-1 |
| Kumaraswami Ravi | RSKD | 10-15 · 2 days ago | $543,127 | 10b5-1 |
| Bicket John | IOT | 10-15 · 2 days ago | $432,393 | 10b5-1 |
| Kent Jennifer J. | KSS | 10-15 · 2 days ago | $403,744 | 10b5-1 |
| Silberman Mitch | IDT | 10-15 · 2 days ago | $188,556 | CAO & Controller |
The levels that matter today
Prior-session high, low and close for the names on the desk's screen. These are the lines the tape reacts to.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 | 763.25 | 773.25 | 760.64 | 779.40 | 760.64 |
| QQQ | 709.80 | 725.96 | 707.23 | 749.79 | 707.23 |
| IWM | 270.44 | 275.91 | 269.88 | 279.14 | 269.88 |
| DIA | 519.10 | 525.09 | 517.65 | 525.09 | 512.96 |
What to do with all this
How the desk is framing the session, and the one thing that would change the plan.The open belongs to whoever pre-committed. Futures are lower; 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.