CBOE index options intraday.

Each graph shows you the value of these option contracts traded throughout the past several days. The left scale represents trading activity in dollars spent (the accumulated total value of options traded throughout the day) and the right scale represents the index plotted.

There are several characteristics that you should be aware of.

1. Notice the difference between the amount of money spent on puts versus calls. Pay close attention to how the lines separate throughout the day.

2. Next focus your attention strictly on the amount of money spent on calls. For example, is the value spent each day increasing, decreasing, choppy or flat.

3. Next focus your attention strictly on the amount of money spent on puts. Notice if it's rising, falling, stagnant, etc.

4. Look for spikes which are a sign of unusual activity.

5. As with the daily cumulative totals, notice the same characteristics with the 4-day cumulative totals. The 4-day totals give you a broader feel for how the money is spent over a few days.

By assessing these attributes, you can gain more insight behind the behavior of these investors and understand their sentiment towards the market. In addition, you can see for yourself when something unusual occurs and market conditions change. Lastly, some of these index options aren't very liquid (not much volume). So you often see huge spikes which dominate the preceding days activity.

Below are two graphs that combine the information presented above. The first graph combines the activities of five different optiions to show you the current market bias. The summary shows you the total amount of money spent separately for puts and calls.

This summarizes the graph above in the form of an oscillator. The intraday dollar values are ranked statistically on a quarterly basis and then combined on a monthly basis to present the oscillator. You can clearly see the extremes in dollars spent and when they occur.