What is meant by the term triple witching?
Triple Witching in the market signals the quarterly occurrence (on the third Friday in June, September, December and March) whereby the contracts for stock index futures, index options and equity options all expire on the same day. It takes place between 10.10am and 10.30am and so the next one is due this Friday, the 16 th June. Between these times, there are usually high levels of trading activity coupled with unpredictable price movements. This is due to the market realigning options, futures and underlying ordinary share prices. At Hargreaves Lansdown , our advice to clients is, if your order is not time critical, then consider holding off until later in the day when the market has stabilised. In addition, Friday’s event could prove particularly volatile given the wild gyrations which the markets have endured over recent weeks.
