Nasdaq-100 Option Strategies For The Summer of 2026

Traders often gripe about the lack of volatility and opportunity during the summer months. The old “sell in May and go away” phrase come from this belief. Admittedly, volumes are often lighter during the summer months, but this does not mean there are no opportunities to benefit from a bullish, bearish or neutral outlook on stocks. With this in mind, we searched the tape for Nadsdaq-100 index option trades using options expiring in July and August.

After digging around for trades from the first two days in June, the NDX Micro Index (XND) option complex offered more interesting trades than the larger Nasdaq-100 (NDX) market so all examples below use XND. XND is 1/100th the size of NDX, so the same strategies in the NDX market would be 100 times the size of the trades below.

Bearish Trades

Despite concerns about equity market valuation, there were some interesting bearish trades using XND options. The first one is from Monday, June 1 with XND at 304.99. A trader purchased the XND Jul 280 Puts for 2.95 and sold the XND Jul 270 Puts for 2.07 resulting in a net cost of 0.88. 

This trade needs a lot to go right to make a profit, specifically a move of over 8% to the downside in three weeks. The risk versus reward reflects the long odds with a maximum loss of 0.88 per spread and a potential gain of 9.12 per spread. However, the maximum profit requires a drop of 11.47% or more by June 18 to achieve that outcome.

The next bearish trade employs a structure that is typically considered neutral but is positioned to benefit from lower XND levels. With XND at 303.56, a trader sold both the XND Aug 294 Call at 20.00 and XND Aug 294 Put sold at 8.03. To complete an iron butterfly the trader purchased the XND Aug 288 Put for 6.47 and XND Aug 300 Call for 15.97. The net result is a XND Aug 288 / 294 / 300 iron butterfly at a 5.59 credit. 

Although the spread is considered neutral, this trade profits if XND is lower by a magnitude of between 1.18% and the upside cushion is 5.13% before the trade shifts from a profit to a loss. However, it is likely that this trade could be closed out early if XND is around 294.00 as the spread would likely be exited at a debit smaller than the 5.59 credit received when the trade was initiated.

Neutral Trades

The first neutral trade may be considered neutral to bullish as a move to the upside benefits this put butterfly. On Tuesday June 2, with XND at 306.12, a trader sold two XND Jul 315 Puts for 13.07, while purchasing the XND Jul 295 Put for 4.92 and XND Jul 335 Put for 28.42. The net cost is 7.20 per spread. 

This spread is considered neutral since it will profit if XND is unchanged at July expiration. Break-even on the downside is a narrow 1.17%, while to the upside there is 5.13% on the upside before this trade goes from being a profit to a loss.

On June 1, with XND at 304.47, a trader sold the XND Aug 258 Puts for 2.12 and purchased the XND Aug 249 Puts for 1.57, taking in a credit of 0.55. 

This trade is classified as neutral since it would take over a 15% loss in XND for this trade to be in danger of realizing losses. The risk of a maximum loss of 8.45 comes into play if XND loses over 18% between June 1 and expiration on August 21.

Bullish Trades

Our first bullish example occurred on Monday June 1 with XND at 303.80. A trader purchased the XND Jun 250 Calls for 54.97 and sold the XND Jun 350 Calls for 0.48, resulting in a net cost of 54.49. The 250 Call is deep in the money with only 1.17 in time value. By selling the 350 Call the time value is basically cut in half to 0.49. One of my mentors, Marty Kearney, often said that spreads make sense when you want to reduce the cost of an expensive option. His exact quote was, “if you have to buy an expensive option, sell one as well”. The call sold in this spread does not really move the needle with respect to the payout if XND is below 350.00 at expiration. 

This trade has a very wide range before the two options in the bull call spread come into play. The long strike price of 250 is 17.71% lower than where XND was when the spread was executed. The upside profit is limited to 45.03 per spread. This requires a gain of 15.21% with any gains beyond that capped by the short 350 call.

A final bullish trade is a multi-step one that appears to be based on a very specific time and price outlook. Again, on Monday June 1, with XND at 305.14, a trader sold the XND Jun 310 Call for 3.39 and purchased the XND Jul 320 Call for 3.79 resulting in a cost of 0.40 per spread. The payoff below is based on June expiration, with the July contract still open. 

At June expiration this trade will have an unrealized profit between 290.00 and 316.00. Remember, there will be a leg of this trade open at expiration so if XND is under 290.00 at expiration, the trade is down by the cost of 0.40, but there is a position left that could increase in value.

If XND is unchanged at expiration, the result is an unrealized profit of just over 2.00 which could be realized if the XND Jul 320 call is sold, but the structure of this trade appears to be one that expects a rally after June expiration is behind.

Summer trading may come with lighter volume and quieter markets, but the XND options market demonstrates that opportunities still exist for traders with a defined outlook and disciplined risk framework. The examples above highlight how bearish, neutral, and bullish views can each be expressed through different option structures, ranging from directional vertical spreads to more nuanced butterflies and diagonal spreads.

Just as importantly, these trades illustrate that successful options trading is not simply about predicting market direction. Strike selection, expiration choice, risk tolerance, and payoff expectations all play a role in matching a strategy to a market thesis. Whether expecting a sharp move, a range-bound market, or a delayed rally, traders can often find structures that align with both their outlook and capital constraints.

Even during the traditionally slower summer months, flexibility in strategy selection can create opportunities when traders look beyond outright calls and puts and examine the broader toolkit available in index options such as XND.