Francis: Elevated Volatility Reflects Institutional Players’ Risk Management

Zed Francis looks under the markets’ hood, arguing that the biggest players all run “similar-ish portfolios,” and their risk management policies could be behind some of the downturn. He points to the jump in shorter-dated SPX puts, with volatility higher but overall market moves kind of sideways. He sees less risk going forward because of this. He also notes that Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings day on February 25 will be a huge event for the market.

Market On Close

17 Feb 2026

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