← Option Trades · Experimental · High Risk
QQQ: Long straddle
NeutralNasdaq 100 ETF
PCE, Nvidia, Warsh and the jobs report inside one expiry. Direction optional.
By Atul Ghandhi · Updated August 25, 2026 (2026-08-25)
The Trade
| Leg | Type | Strike | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|
| buy | call | $705.00 | Fri, Sep 4 |
| buy | put | $705.00 | Fri, Sep 4 |
Struck against: $706.32 ▼ 1.00% (Aug 24 close, per StockAnalysis.com)
Catalyst: July PCE Aug 26, Nvidia earnings Aug 26, Warsh at Jackson Hole Aug 28, August jobs report Sep 4
New to this structure? What is a straddle →
The Exits
- Profit order
- Sell the whole package at 60% profit at any point in the window.
- Loss cut
- If QQQ sits within 1% of $705 at Monday Aug 31’s close, the events came and went without a move. Sell half then.
- Time stop
- Close everything by 11am on September 4, after the jobs number has done whatever it does.
Sizing reality: Two legs on a $700 underlying make this the most expensive package on the board. The percentage math is what matters, not the ticket size.
Why This Trade
Four catalysts land inside this expiry: the PCE print Wednesday morning, Nvidia Wednesday night, Warsh on Friday, then the August jobs report on September 4. Each one alone can move the index.
The tape is already moving. The Nasdaq fell 2.1% last week while the S&P fell 1.4%, and the long end of the curve has been setting the terms for a fortnight.
The straddle refuses the hardest question. Whether Nvidia rips the index up or a hawkish Warsh knocks it down, the package only needs the move itself.
The failure mode is a pin: Nvidia lands in line, Warsh says nothing, jobs print at consensus, and eleven days of theta eat both legs. Flat is the one outcome this trade cannot survive.
The Chain
The Fri, Sep 4 strikes this trade lives in. Cboe delayed quotes as of 2026-08-25 14:50:21 ET, with QQQ at $709.28. The page refreshes the numbers hourly.
| Calls | Strike | Puts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bid | Ask | Last | · | Bid | Ask | Last |
| 19.31 | 20.02 | 21.62 | 695.00 | 4.32 | 4.37 | 4.77 |
| 15.81 | 15.92 | 14.74 | 700.00 | 5.60 | 5.66 | 5.53 |
| 12.42 | 12.52 | 12.66 | 705.00 | 7.22 | 7.28 | 7.29 |
| 9.45 | 9.52 | 9.46 | 710.00 | 9.24 | 9.31 | 8.98 |
| 6.91 | 6.97 | 7.03 | 715.00 | 11.71 | 11.82 | 12.15 |