September 18 Recap: Leaned Bullish, META $3.7B, SPX GEX Negative
Daily Market Recap on the completed September 18 session printed $20.8B of single-name premium, 74% in calls, with tone leaned bullish at 24% vs 19% bearish. META absorbed $3.7B. SPX GEX was Negative at −$63.48B.
This is a Daily Market Recap readout of the completed September 18, 2026 session. It is not a trade.
Two clocks sit in the same report:
- Session tape — single-name (STOCK) premium, sentiment, timing, and movers from AggregatedOptionTrades.
- TradingFlow GEX / IV — prior-close chain and meta snapshots (T+1). They do not recompute live 0DTE books.
The session leaned bullish at 24% bullish vs 19% bearish, with $20.8B of single-name premium and 74% of it in calls. The heaviest name was META ($3.7B, Bullish). Index GEX was Negative on SPX at −$63.48B. That is the finding.
Tape versus T+1 structure. Sentiment and premium are the session. GEX is prior-close. Neither row is a forecast.
Readers with access can open Daily Market Recap or the dated run market-recap~2026-09-18. Sign-in and an eligible trial or subscription may be required.
What the recap printed
Test app, official Daily Market Recap, session 2026-09-18. KPI strip is the session tape. Captured September 19, 2026.
On this run:
- Session: Sep 18, 2026 (latest completed)
- Total premium: $20.8B (single-name)
- Call premium: 74% · put premium: 26%
- Bullish: 24% · bearish: 19%
- Tone: leaned bullish
- Largest sentiment bucket: NEUTRAL $12.0B (bullish $4.9B, bearish $3.9B)
- Heaviest name: glance META $3.6B; leaders table META $3.7B
- Bottom-line mover: GEMI +26.9%
September 17 was $23.3B split 50% / 50%. This session is smaller and call-heavy.
Neutral premium (spreads, hedges, two-sided prints) is not directional. Tone is the bullish-versus-bearish gap, not the neutral bucket.
Same run, Step 1. Neutral is the largest bucket. Tone still leaned bullish. Captured in the test app on September 19, 2026.
Glance, one reading per axis:
| Axis | Symbol | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Most option premium | META | $3.6B |
| Largest Net DEX | MSTR | +2M shares-equiv. |
| Largest Net DEI magnitude | TSLA | 287% |
| Highest IV rank | COIN | 40 / 100 |
| Index gamma regime | SPX | Negative |
Leaders: META $3.7B Bullish
Test app, Step 2, session 2026-09-18. Color is net bias on that name, not a forecast. Captured September 19, 2026.
Top of the book:
| Symbol | Premium | Call | Put | Net bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| META | $3.7B | $3.5B | $157M | Bullish |
| MU | $1.8B | $1.2B | $517M | Bullish |
| SNDK | $1.7B | $1.2B | $463M | Bullish |
| TSLA | $1.1B | $715M | $369M | Mixed |
| MSTR | $889M | $738M | $151M | Bullish |
| NVDA | $725M | $536M | $189M | Mixed |
META is almost all calls ($3.5B of $3.7B) and tagged Bullish. Glance printed $3.6B; the leaders table and headline cards print $3.7B. Quote both.
First recorded window: 09:30, $2.5B. Timing alone does not prove intent.
Largest Net DEI: TSLA 287%, associated Net DEX Positive. Largest Net DEX: MSTR +2M shares-equivalent. DEI is unsigned magnitude versus typical volume; DEX is a separate signed classification. Neither proves trader identity or dealer inventory.
Highest IV rank among active names: COIN 40, 30-day IV 66.6%. IV rank is where that name's 30-day implied vol sits in its own past year.
Index GEX: SPX Negative −$63.48B
Test app, Step 6, session 2026-09-18. GEX is prior-close structure (T+1) under the product dealer-sign convention. Captured September 19, 2026.
| Index | Net GEX ($B) | Regime |
|---|---|---|
| SPX | −63.48 | Negative |
| IWM | −13.87 | Negative |
| NDX | +11.7 | Positive |
| QQQ | +7.34 | Positive |
| SPY | +0.58 | Positive |
| DIA | −0.42 | Negative |
SPX is the largest absolute print, and still Negative. IWM is also Negative. NDX, QQQ, and SPY are Positive on this snapshot. September 17 had SPX at −$23.11B. Negative GEX here is modeled structure, not observed dealer inventory. See Negative GEX is session risk, not a trade.
Headline name: META at $669
Test app, Step 8, session 2026-09-18. Headline name is the heaviest premium, not the biggest percent mover. Captured September 19, 2026.
META on this run:
- Last: $669
- Option premium: $3.7B
- Call share: 96%
- Bullish share: 27%
- Average IV on traded contracts: 62%
Biggest prints (as the recap listed them):
| Time | Type | Strike | Expiry | Premium | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:36 | CALL | 5 | 2027-12-17 | $467M | NEUTRAL |
| 17:52 | CALL | 5 | 2027-12-17 | $233M | BULLISH |
| 14:36 | CALL | 5 | 2026-12-18 | $233M | NEUTRAL |
| 14:36 | CALL | 5 | 2028-12-15 | $187M | NEUTRAL |
| 15:28 | CALL | 5 | 2027-12-17 | $127M | NEUTRAL |
Same run, Step 8 prints table. Every listed print is a 5 call. The largest is Neutral. Captured September 19, 2026.
Every print in this table is a 5-strike call. The largest is Neutral $467M. 96% call share on META is not the same as a 27% bullish tape on META.
Movers: GEMI +26.9% and PAAI −49.5%
The recap prints two mover readings. They are not the same field.
- Bottom line: "the day's biggest mover was GEMI, up 26.9%."
- Step 7 key result: leading mover PAAI, −49.5%, direction Down.
Test app, Step 7, session 2026-09-18. intraday_pct is an in-tape first-to-last underlying-price proxy. Captured September 19, 2026.
PAAI is the largest down bar; GEMI is the largest up bar. The recipe does not merge them into one "biggest mover." Quote both. Movers are not intent.
What this session is evidence of
| Question | Recap on Sep 18 | Clock |
|---|---|---|
| How large was the single-name tape? | $20.8B, 74% calls | Session premium |
| Did the tape lean? | Leaned bullish 24% vs 19%; Neutral $12.0B | Session sentiment |
| Where did the dollars go? | META $3.7B Bullish; MU $1.8B; SNDK $1.7B | Session leaders |
| When did premium arrive? | First window 09:30 $2.5B | 30-minute buckets |
| What was index GEX? | SPX −$63.48B Negative; NDX +$11.7B Positive | T+1 snapshot |
| What did META print? | Last $669, 96% calls, largest print 5C Dec-27 $467M Neutral | Headline name + tape |
| Biggest mover? | Bottom line GEMI +26.9%; Step 7 key PAAI −49.5% | Two recap fields |
One session is not a trend. Proxies (intraday_pct, simplified GEX) are descriptive estimates, not price forecasts.
Reproduce the findings
- Open Daily Market Recap and lock session Sep 18, 2026 (or open market-recap~2026-09-18).
- Record the KPI strip: total premium, call/put share, bullish/bearish share, and the Bottom line sentence.
- Step 2: confirm META $3.7B Bullish at the top of premium.
- Step 6: confirm SPX −63.48 Negative and NDX Positive.
- Step 7 and Step 8: write down PAAI −49.5% and GEMI +26.9% as separate fields, then the META 14:36 5C Neutral print.
- Stop before "therefore buy META" or "therefore the next session stays negative GEX."
TradingFlow App Home → Cookbooks → Daily Market Recap for the session lock.
Related reading
- September 17 Recap: Balanced Tape, AMD $1.7B, SPX GEX Negative
- September 14 Recap: Balanced Tape, MU $2B, SPX GEX Negative
- Daily Market Recap: read a full options session in Cookbooks
- Negative GEX is session risk, not a trade
Learn more
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