Hedging Boom Sets Up ‘Extra Spicy’ Options Day for Credit ETF Junk-debt ETF’s put open interest hits a record before expiry Dealer hedging may make Friday’s rollover volatile: McElligott By Katherine Greifeld February 15, 2022, 2:46 PM CST Follow the authors @kgreifeld + Get alerts for In this article Wall Street’s monthly expiry of options is normally associated with fireworks in the equity market, but corporate bonds could be in the mix when the next “OpEx” unfolds on Friday. A surge in bearish positioning on the iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (ticker HYG) means this month’s OpEx could be “extra spicy” for the $16 billion exchange-traded fund, reckons Charlie McElligott at Nomura Holdings. Put open interest on HYG is currently at all-time highs, setting the stage for volatility -- and a potential rip higher for the junk-debt ETF. When a dealer sells a put option, it’s essentially taking a bet on the underlying asset to go up. To offset this unwanted directional risk, the dealer typically sells some of the asset to maintain a neutral position. When the put options expire, it will reverse those hedging moves, potentially creating a tail wind for the asset. LQD) has also surged to a record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Short interest in the fund, as measured by the proportion of shares outstanding on loan, is at a record 26.8%, data from IHS Markit Ltd. show. The massive buildup of bearish activity on these major ETFs has come as the Federal Reserve’s plan for tighter monetary policy rattles investors, sending a shiver through a credit market that has gorged on easy money for over a decade. About $4.5 billion has exited HYG already this year as it has fallen around 5%. Should the price of HYG see a boost from OpEx adjustments in the coming days, that could also be good news for the stock market, according to McElligott. Credit spreads have been a key driver of equities lately, he said. “A substantial rally here in HYG could add additional gasoline to further ‘sling-shot’ an equities mechanical rally,” the cross-asset strategist wrote in a Tuesday note.