XLF Options Price In a 2% Move as Bank Earnings Wave Begins

Options markets are pricing in a roughly 2% move for the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) as major U.S. banks prepare to release third-quarter earnings, signaling expectations for restrained volatility in the financial sector.

Bank earnings are scheduled to begin Tuesday. Morgan Stanley and BlackRock are due to report Wednesday, Oct. 14, while the week also includes U.S. consumer and producer price reports.

Individual banks also carry varying implied moves ahead of their reports. Bank of America’s implied move is 2.9%, compared with 3% for Citigroup and 3.5% for Wells Fargo.

Those figures extend the comparison outlined in earlier coverage of options-implied moves for financial companies. The next major market events are the bank earnings releases, followed by the consumer price report Wednesday morning and the producer price report Thursday morning.