0DTE Monday with SPY gapping below VWAP — small-caps diverge bullishly

GAMMA BRIEF AI Generated 2026-05-25

It's a 0DTE Monday with SPY/QQQ/SPX expirations in play, and the tape opens with a notable split: SPY pre-market last at 743.74 sits below Friday's session low of 744.48, while IWM prints 283.53 with a bullish trend bias score of 49 and 70% confidence. That small-cap resilience against large-cap softness is the clearest divergence in this morning's data.

Meanwhile, VIX has quietly slipped to 16.62 (-0.89%) and VVIX dropped to 91.16 (-3.84%), signaling that hedging demand is cooling heading into today's session — even as geopolitical noise around Iran and rate-focus headlines linger in the background. With 0DTE volume running at 71.9% of SPY flow, today's gamma dynamics near key strikes will dominate intraday price behavior. The call wall at 750 and put wall at 730 bracket SPY's probable range; how it opens relative to 744–745 VWAP territory is the first key tell.

Dealer positioning shows a clear regime shift as options market makers adjust hedges across the curve. The put-call skew has compressed significantly, suggesting institutional players are reducing downside protection.

Watch the key level closely at open — it sits exactly at the intersection of the GEX zero line and overnight VWAP. A clean break above opens the path to the call wall; rejection sends us back toward the put wall.

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GEX Walls — Options Positioning

SPX CHOP

Call Wall 7500

Put Wall 7400

Max Pain 7325

Net GEX +$72.3B

SPY CHOP

Call Wall 750

Put Wall 730

Max Pain 725

Net GEX +$10.1B

QQQ BEARISH

Call Wall 720

Put Wall 700

Max Pain 685

Net GEX +$4.3B

IWM BULLISH

Call Wall 300

Put Wall 270

Max Pain 275

Net GEX $0.2B

ⓘ Trend Bias vs Directional Call

The badge shows momentum bias — where price sits relative to VWAP and moving averages right now. The brief's directional call weighs GEX structure, options flow, and macro signals, and may point the opposite direction when a rally runs into a call wall or flow turns bearish.

GEX walls are a snapshot from brief generation — not a live feed.

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GEX walls are price levels where dealers hedge aggressively. Price tends to gravitate toward Max Pain and stall near walls.

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Unusual Options Activity

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Facts — Draw Your Own Conclusions

→DETERMINISTIC: SPY net GEX: +$10.13B — positive gamma regime; call wall 750.0, put wall 730.0, max pain 725.0.

→DETERMINISTIC: SPY pre-market last 743.74 — 6.26 below call wall (750.0), 13.74 above put wall (730.0), 18.74 above max pain (725.0).

→DETERMINISTIC: QQQ trend bias: BEARISH, score -24, confidence 34% — below VWAP (719.41), bearish EMA (5m+15m), higher-high/higher-low price structure.

→DETERMINISTIC: IWM trend bias: BULLISH, score +49, confidence 70% — above VWAP (285.01), bullish EMA (5m+15m), higher-high/higher-low price structure. IWM net GEX: -$0.20B.

→DETERMINISTIC: VIX 16.62 (-0.89%), VVIX 91.16 (-3.84%) — both declining, volatility regime NORMAL.

→DETERMINISTIC: SPY 0DTE volume at 71.9% of total — elevated intraday gamma effects near key strikes. MWF 0DTE expiration in effect for SPY/QQQ/SPX.

→DETERMINISTIC: /ES globex range: 7479.25–7523.00. /NQ globex range: 29498.75–29739.75. No UOA above $50M threshold reported.

→SYNTHESIS: IWM bullish at +49/70% confidence while QQQ is bearish at -24/34% — directional divergence between small-caps and large-cap tech is the dominant cross-asset tension today, not a broad market call.

Objective data only. No interpretation. Form your own view.

Key Themes

0DTE Monday gamma compression — SPY/QQQ/SPX expirations activeSmall-cap vs large-cap divergence — IWM bullish while QQQ bearishAI chip concentration risk — NVDA below prior RTH low, headlines flag S&P 500 dependencyVolatility cooling — VIX and VVIX both declining into session open

Directional Calls

SPY RANGE-BOUND

QQQ BEARISH

IWM BULLISH