0DTE Call Surge Lifts SPX Off Lows; Wells Fargo 7700 Target Caps the Rally

Thursday opened with a sharp gap-down, SPY printing as low as 763.25, before a wave of 0DTE call sweeps totaling over $649 million in SPX notional — all flagged at the open — put a floor under equities. The market recovered to session highs of 768.93 on SPY and 7719.01 on SPX before fading into the close, with SPY finishing at 765.72, down just 0.27% on the day despite a 5.68-point intraday range.

The pullback into the close is worth noting: SPY closed below its own put wall at 767 and below the SPX call wall at 7710, with VIX edging up 0.38% to 15.67 and VVIX gaining 0.73% to 90.57. Wells Fargo's freshly cut S&P 500 target of 7,700 — published today — lands almost exactly on the SPX put wall and adds a narrative anchor to a level that options structure was already flagging as contested. Friday's session opens with COST earnings as the primary catalyst and a tape that closed with price structure showing lower highs and lower lows.