Notes from an Intraday Trader

Tim Titus — intraday S&P 500 index options trader and founder of SPX Option Trader

Most financial commentary is written in terms of prediction: where the market may go next week, next month, or next year. My work focuses on something different.

I study how the S&P 500 behaves during the trading session itself.
Not what the market should do, but how participants are actually responding in real time.

I have traded the financial markets since the late 1990s and now focus primarily on SPX and SPY same-day expiration (0DTE) index options.

Price movement during the day reflects positioning, liquidity, and reaction to key levels. Certain tendencies appear repeatedly. The opening period shows whether overnight positioning holds. The middle of the session reveals acceptance or rejection of price. Late-day activity often indicates whether larger participants are committing capital or reducing exposure.

Rather than forecasting long-term direction, I focus on what the market is doing as it unfolds.

The articles on this website explain those observations. They are not trade alerts and they are not a trading course. They are written to explain how intraday market behavior develops and how traders interpret it.

Over time markets change, but the process remains the same: observe, interpret, and participate only when conditions justify the risk.

  • Why Option Prices Can Decline Even When the Market Moves in the Expected Direction

    One of the more confusing aspects of trading 0DTE options is that a trade can move in the expected direction and still lose money. For example, a trader expects the market to move higher and purchases a call. The price does move higher, the idea appears correct, yet the option premium does not increase as…

  • Backtesting Does Not Reflect Real-Time 0DTE Trading

    Backtesting is often used to evaluate trading ideas by applying rules to historical price data. In longer-term investing or stock trading, it can provide a general sense of behavior over time. In intraday 0DTE options, the relationship is different. Backtesting presents price and execution as stable and repeatable. However, 0DTE intraday trading does not behave…

  • Why the Market Often Pauses Near Round Numbers

    Traders often notice a similar pattern during the trading session. Price moves steadily in one direction and approaches a clean, recognizable level. The market appears strong, momentum is clear, and movement has been orderly. Yet as price nears the level, the behavior changes. Movement slows, trading becomes uneven, and sometimes price reverses entirely. The level…

  • Why SPX Option Prices Appear Elevated at the Market Open

    Many traders notice the same thing shortly after the opening bell. They look at the SPX or SPY option chain and premiums appear expensive relative to what the index is doing. Small movements in price can correspond with large option values, and trades that look reasonable on the chart can behave differently once entered. This…

  • Why Experienced Traders Don’t Trade 0DTE Options Every Day.

    0DTE options have expanded rapidly in popularity. The appeal is understandable. Trades resolve quickly and price movement can be significant within a single session. A position opened in the morning can reach its full outcome within hours. Because these contracts are listed every trading day, many assume they should be traded every trading day. In…

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