Premarket Calls and Puts, October 14, 2026

Provisional plan on last night’s closing chains. The 10:00 AM run confirms on live quotes.

Today’s Catalysts

BAC and MS both reported Q3 results premarket. BAC gapped down hard on its print, trading around ==$50.55== versus yesterday’s ==$53.96== close. MS beat estimates (==$3.03== vs ==$2.90== est) but faded anyway, trading around ==$183.21== to ==$186.00== versus a ==$186.64== close, inside an already confirmed downtrend.

TSM reports Q3 tomorrow AM (Thursday) with FY26 capex guidance already raised to ==$60 to 64B== and Q3 revenue already confirmed at a record ==$46.7B, up 50% y/y==. This is the catalyst every AI chip name is trading around this week. Chips are de risking into it, MU and AVGO both soft overnight.

CPI landed at 8.30am today, the other macro catalyst of the session.

Call Candidates

GOOGL Nov 20 $355C. Clean contract on every quality gate, delta 0.525, spread 2.8%, open interest 31.7k, theta 1.4% a day, breakeven ==$371.13== sits well under the 52 week high of ==$408.61==, no gate 5 issue. Contract cost about ==$1,613==. Failed sizing against the standard band, and a cheaper far strike is not the answer per the strike discipline rule.

Put Candidates

MS Nov 20 $185P. Confirmed downtrend, price under a falling 50 day, RSI 30.4, supertrend down. Today’s reaction, a beat that still faded, is the kind of setup the rulebook wants. Delta 0.43, open interest 2.5k, breakeven ==$178.42== sits comfortably above the stale 52 week low, contract cost about ==$657.50==. The one miss is spread, 6.8% on last night’s closing marks against the 5% ceiling. Closest contract to clearing everything this run. Recheck spread live at 10am, this could tighten once the real market opens.

Rejected, and why

• AAPL Nov 20 $360C, gate 5. Printed a new 52 week high ==$348.15== yesterday, one session ago. Otherwise clean, price above a rising 50 day, RSI 59, but chasing a fresh high is the single mistake the rulebook exists to prevent.
• MU Nov 20 $950P, gate 1. Bid size 1 on the put, fills on entry and traps on exit.
• AVGO Nov 20 $360P and $350P, sizing. Both strikes checked. The nearer strike is the better contract on every other gate, but the answer to a size miss is no trade, not a cheaper strike.
• TSM, gate 7. Reports its own earnings tomorrow AM, not yet released. Trading it now is a forecast dressed up as a trade.

The tape is set up for a rotation story, mega cap tech diverging higher while chips de risk ahead of TSM’s print and banks mostly fade their own beats. What would break this: a strong TSM beat tomorrow with bullish 2027 margin guidance could reverse the chip weakness fast, and a disappointing read-through from BAC’s miss into the rest of bank earnings could spread risk off beyond financials.