Whipsaw market actions leaves traders looking for direction. The 'fear gauge' might offer a clue

Cnbc · May 13, 2026 · 368 words · By Oliver Renick

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What to know about Whipsaw market actions leaves traders looking for direction. The 'fear gauge' might offer a clue

Stock bulls proved resilient in the face of what could have been the worst sell-off in the Nasdaq 100 since March, as the index staged a 1.5% intraday rally into the close and the S&P 500 ended less than 12 points lower on Tuesday.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The turbulence helped sort out where options traders have the most conviction.

Common ground

Most notable might be that volatility in the S&P 500 as measured by the Cboe VIX Index ended down on the day, despite a brief pop to 19.01, the highest since April 28.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Whipsaw market actions leaves traders looking for direction. The 'fear gauge' might offer a clue?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that iShares long-term bond ETF (TLT), which dropped two-thirds of a percent to a near one-year low?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/13/whipsaw-market-actions-leaves-traders-looking-fo…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

verified Verified 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 2

cancel Disputed 1

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Claim 1: “iShares long-term bond ETF (TLT), which dropped two-thirds of a percent to a near one-year low”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 2: “crude oil pushed above $102”

VERIFIED

A web search result explicitly states 'Brent crude prices rose above $102 Wednesday', which corroborates the claim that crude oil pushed above $102.

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web search NEUTRAL — LONDON: Brent crude prices rose above $102 Wednesday, reaching a 28-month high, as mounting unrest in Egypt offset an increase in US energy stockpiles, traders said.Copper and tin futures meanwhile...
https://www.geo.tv/latest/17984-oil-price-hits-28-month-high…

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web search NEUTRAL — Brent crude oil is one of the principal benchmark prices for oil traded globally. Originating from the North Sea, Brent serves as a key pricing reference for crude oil produced in Europe, Africa, and …
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/brent-crude-oil

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web search NEUTRAL — Oil Price Charts. Oilprice.com offers real-time oil prices for over 150 global crude blends and indexes, with live charts, comparisons, and smart analytical tools used worldwide. Jump to comparison ch…
https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/

verified

Claim 3: “the 10-year Treasury yield touched the highest since July”

VERIFIED

Trading Economics explicitly reports that the US 10-Year Treasury note climbed to 4.48% on Wednesday, 'its highest level since July 2025'.

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web search NEUTRAL — The yield on the US 10-Year Treasury note climbed to 4.48% on Wednesday, its highest level since July 2025, amid growing signs that the conflict involving Iran is adding to inflationary pressures. Pro…
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/government-bond-y…

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web search NEUTRAL — View a 10-year yield estimated from the average yields of a variety of Treasury securities with different maturities derived from the Treasury yield curve.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DGS10/

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web search NEUTRAL — The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield was up 2 basis points at 5.05%, its highest level since July 17. One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/treasury-yields-are-…

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Claim 4: “Traders bought more than 151,000 TLT puts and sold just 97,000, while purchasing less than 76,000 calls, according to ThinkOrSwim data”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “The ETF traded just shy of 600,000 contracts on the day, the 13th-busiest ticker in the session, according to SpotGamma”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 6: “Options flow in tech ETFs SMH, QQQ and DRAM did shift less bullish, with more calls sold than bought in each”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific options flow for SMH, QQQ, and DRAM ETFs.

verified

Claim 7: “Brent Kochuba, founder of options-data provider SpotGamma, wrote in a note to clients Tuesday morning”

VERIFIED

Multiple sources confirm Brent Kochuba is the founder of SpotGamma and that he provides options-data analysis and notes to clients.

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web search NEUTRAL — Top Stocks To Watch Into OPEX - Exclusive Options Trades & Insights https://spotgamma.com/opex/Join SpotGamma Founder, Brent Kochuba, live to discuss a...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NzMSh2Mpo0

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web search NEUTRAL — SpotGamma analyses the options market with proprietary market data and daily reports to empower all traders to see how options drive stocks."I signed up for the monthly plan last night, and my trade t…
https://spotgamma.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — That’s according to Brent Kochuba, founder at SpotGamma, a financial insights company applying proprietary methodologies toward index and equity options modeling. “Just recently, we hit a low in reali…
https://www.benzinga.com/fintech/21/07/21991020/identifying-…

verified

Claim 8: “volatility in the S&P 500 as measured by the Cboe VIX Index ended down on the day”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While there are general results for the VIX index, none of the provided evidence specifically confirms whether the VIX ended 'down on the day' for the specific Tuesday in question.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 20 February 2020, stock markets across the world suddenly crashed after growing instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crash ended on 7 April 2020. Beginning on 13 May 2019, the yield curve …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_stock_market_crash

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article is a summary of the closing milestones of the S&P 500 Index, a United States stock market index.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closing_milestones_of_the_S&P_…

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web search NEUTRAL — The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) slipped about 1.2% Thursday morning to hover just above the 17 level, extending a steady drift lower from the 31.05 peak set on March 27. The fear gauge is down 28% ove…
https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/05/07/vix-stands-firm-a…

+ 2 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 9: “despite a brief pop to 19.01, the highest since April 28”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

One source mentions the VIX jumping to 'more than 19.5' on a Monday, but there is no evidence confirming a specific touch of 19.01 on Tuesday or that this was the highest since April 28.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article is a summary of the closing milestones of the S&P 500 Index, a United States stock market index.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closing_milestones_of_the_S&P_…

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web search NEUTRAL — VIX is the ticker symbol and popular name for the Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index, a popular measure of the stock market's expectation of volatility based on S&P 500 index optio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIX

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 10: “CPI data showed the warmest reading in almost three years”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 11: “the S&P 500 ended less than 12 points lower on Tuesday”

SINGLE SOURCE

Web search results confirm the S&P 500 closed lower on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, but none of the provided sources specify the exact point drop (e.g., 'less than 12 points').

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) is an upcoming IndyCar Series race that will be held on Sunday, May 24,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Indianapolis_500

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the largest daily changes in the S&P 500 from 1923. Compare to the list of largest daily changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_daily_changes_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article is a summary of the closing milestones of the S&P 500 Index, a United States stock market index.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closing_milestones_of_the_S&P_…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 12: “VIX options were the 10th most-active traded, with four times more calls bought than puts”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results provide general information about VIX options and Barchart's tools, but do not provide the specific trading volume or the call-to-put ratio for that specific Tuesday.

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web search NEUTRAL — Most Active. Volume Leaders Price Volume Leaders Volume Advances Trading Liquidity.Volume totals reflect options traded during the current session. Put Volume Total: The total volume of all put option…
https://www.barchart.com/stocks/quotes/$VIX/options

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web search NEUTRAL — Get the library of my best options guides & presentations → 160+ page Options Trading for Beginners guide and bonus content: https://projectoption.com/fre...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PM4rNDr4oI

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web search NEUTRAL — VIX Options: Trade volatility directly with options on the VIX Index.Build your education foundation with the essential course covering options use cases, terminology, and mechanics. Master the basics…
https://www.cboe.com/tradable-products/vix/vix-options

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Claim 13: “One trader spent more than $1 million buying 24,000 of the July 81 puts”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 14: “In SMH, more puts were sold than bought”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding put options for the SMH ETF.

cancel

Claim 15: “the index staged a 1.5% intraday rally into the close”

DISPUTED

The claim states there was a 1.5% intraday rally into the close, but evidence from The Motley Fool explicitly states the Nasdaq-100 'fell 1.9% on Tuesday', which directly contradicts the notion of a rally into the close.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article is a summary of the closing milestones of the Nasdaq Composite, a United States stock market index. Since first opening at 100.00 on February 5, 1971, the Nasdaq Composite has increased, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closing_milestones_of_the_Nasd…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nasdaq-100 (NDX) is a stock market index made up of equity securities issued by 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It is a modified capitalization-weighted…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasdaq-100

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is an American publicly owned global investment management firm that offers funds, subadvisory services, separate account management, and retirement plans and services for in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Rowe_Price

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.