$7T quad-witching marks second largest event ever

Roughly $7 trillion worth of stock index futures, stock index options, and single-stock options expired simultaneously on September 18, making it the second-largest quadruple witching event in market history. To put that number in perspective, $7 trillion is roughly the combined GDP of Japan and India.

The only events that have topped it are recent ones: March 2026 came in around $7.1 trillion, and the June 2026 expiration approached an estimated $7.7 trillion.

What quad-witching actually means for markets

Quadruple witching happens four times a year, on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December. It’s the day when four types of derivative contracts expire at once: stock index futures, stock index options, single-stock options, and single-stock futures.

The real fireworks tend to happen during the final hour of trading, aptly nicknamed the “witching hour.” That’s when the bulk of positions get adjusted, creating trading volume that can spike to several times above normal levels.

This September’s event was facilitated primarily through the CME for index futures and the Cboe for options trading, the two exchanges that serve as the backbone of US derivatives infrastructure.

The Fed’s timing added fuel to the fire

What made this particular expiration especially charged was its proximity to a major monetary policy shift. On September 16, just two days before the witching date, the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4.00%. It was the central bank’s first rate hike in more than three years.

The Bank of Japan also held a monetary policy meeting during the same window, adding another layer of global macro uncertainty.

Pre-event estimates from Citadel Securities pegged US options exposure at approximately $6.2 trillion as of late August. The jump from $6.2 trillion to the final $7 trillion figure suggests a meaningful buildup in positioning during the first two and a half weeks of September, likely driven in part by traders hedging around the anticipated Fed decision.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.