SPXW Options..Why Don't MM's just tighten the spread already? SPY weekly options usually runs 1 to 2 cents spread vs 20 to 40 cents on the SPXW options. If they went to 10 to 20 cents on SPXW there would be parity. Wouldn't the volume just flood over to SPXW if the spreads were equal? What's the hang up??
I agree...I tried a spread but sat on it all day, it didn't get filled. I certainly think it is a much better idea than the voodoo "print" on the SPX...but if people are getting ripped it won't do the volume.
Those spreads have never been equal. Don't know why, don't care. You get an order of magnitude more bang for the buck on the SPX, so worrying about a doubling, proportionately, in the spreads is just being cheap. Or, you get what you pay for. As always. [size=-2]*PS: ES options, for whatever reason, seem to allow for getting filled very favorably at weird, random times and places. I haven't tried to systematize that, but maybe, if you're really worried about those spreads, you might try that. Worth a shot. And they trade 23 out of 24 hours of the day. That can be quite an advantage sometimes.[/size]
Seems to me they are extremely tight, much better then the actual SPX options which are generally quoted between 1 and 4 dollars wide. As you say the spxw's are generally .20 to .40 wide which equates to 2 and 4 cents in the spy's. Not an extreme difference, especially when they trade easily between the markets. Remember the SPY's are multiply listed, so there are many many market makers quoting into them while the SPXW's are single listed at the CBOE so there are many fewer market makers sending quotes in.
I think the OP was referring to the width of the quotes, not actually trading a spread, but I have found that spreads are traded very easily in the SPXW's. I watch the COB (complex order book listing spreads) all day in this product and I can tell you that you have to give up very little edge to get a spread filled. On a side note, the SPXPM's spreads seem to require even less of an edge to be filled.
I don't actually know the reason but I'd hazard a guess that either a) SPXW options are somehow harder to hedge since they trade against a basket of stocks instead of just one, or (more likely) b) market making fees for SPXW options are higher.
I watch the COB (complex order book listing spreads) all day in this product and I can tell you that you have to give up very little edge to get a spread filled. I am interested in this . How do you watch? Which web side you go Is it CBOE you mean? Thanks
Less competition on the SPXW. I also doubt volume would just "flood over" if the spreads were equivalent. People dont really care. That being said, as someone else said ES future options are worth looking into. The fills there are great. Unlike with those crappy CBOE MMs.
I've traded the ES options for years and the bid/ask spread also suck. But as you say, its an advantage when you can trade overnight or on eco #'s in pre market. If people didn't care there would be alot more volume in the SPXW because its much cheaper commission wise, all things being equal. The point made earlier about fewer MM's seems like a valid argument. I suppose it also holds for the ES.