Nikkei 225 for Friday, October 18, 2024

• Prime Market Trading Value: 3.6276 trillion yen
• Prime Market Trading Volume: 1.431 billion shares

The market isn't rising. It's not just that the upside is heavy—it feels like there is no upside at all.
Selling calls at higher levels seems like an easy way to profit in this market.

With the current arbitrage surplus of 838.05 million shares unresolved, it looks unlikely that the market will move higher.
On the contrary, any trigger could lead to a sharp market crash given the current supply-demand situation.

For the time being, the market is likely to hover between 38,000 to 39,000 yen.

Since we are in the election period, it is unlikely that any negative political statements will emerge.
Crude oil prices are around $68 per barrel, which doesn't look promising for the market sentiment.

With three weeks left until the November options settlement (SQ), the U.S. developments seem to be the key factor.