To The Moon

These positions are likely adding to the overall market volatility," said SpotGamma founder Brent Kochuba.

Goldman Sachs estimated this week that about $3.4 trillion of U.S. stock options were set to expire on Friday, a much larger than usual quarterly figure.

U.S. markets will be shut on Monday for the Juneteenth holiday.

Some market participants expect more demand for hedging of portfolios as investors face a possible recession. A large number of bearish positions expiring could also provide some relief in the near term, they said.

The Federal Reserve's 75 basis point interest rate hike on Wednesday and the possibility of more hikes to tame decades-high inflation has put the S&P 500 on course for its worst weekly performance since the pandemic-led crash in 2020.