Brazilian equities are back in favor on Wall Street, and this time the flow is showing up in the options market in a big way. After a monthslong pullback from the six-year highs reached in April, the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) has climbed more than 12% off last month’s lows, putting the fund up 19% year to date. That puts it ahead of the Nasdaq-100’s 15% advance over the same stretch, according to CNBC.
The latest leg higher may owe something to surging commodity prices, or it could reflect growing optimism around Brazil’s general election scheduled for October. Whatever the catalyst, options traders have taken notice — and they’re placing unusually large bets that lean bullish.
On Wednesday, EWZ options volume rocketed to more than six times the fund’s 30-day average, according to Cboe LiveVol data cited by CNBC. By midday, more than 420,000 contracts had changed hands, making EWZ one of the top-20 most-traded securities in the entire U.S. options market, on par with names like Alphabet and the Cboe Volatility Index, per SpotGamma.
That kind of ranking is rare for any non-U.S. stock or ETF. But whether the burst of volume signals a strong directional view is a more complicated question.
Calls dominate, but sellers are active too
The tape is heavily skewed toward calls: roughly 400,000 calls traded against fewer than 30,000 puts, according to ThinkOrSwim data. Of the $50 million in premium traded, nearly all of it — about $48 million — was tied to call contracts, with an estimated $26 million of that coming from buyers, SpotGamma data show.
One notable detail in the bulls’ favor: the top 20 contracts traded were all calls, a highly unusual pattern in any options flow. Even so, the mix of activity suggests not every call trade is an outright bullish wager.
Almost as many calls were sold as bought, which is not inherently bearish. Selling calls can be part of bullish spread strategies or directionally neutral positions, and it can also be a way to harvest premium when options prices are elevated.
Volatility is rising along with the price
The surge in options activity comes as implied volatility in EWZ has climbed alongside the underlying rally. Implied vol moved from 0.28 to 0.39 over the past three weeks, ThinkOrSwim data show, meaning options on the fund are the priciest they’ve been since late June.
That dynamic may be drawing in traders who sell options to collect premium, betting that the recent swings in the fund will settle down. Whether the positioning reflects conviction in the election trade or simply a hunt for income in a volatile market, the scale of the activity makes EWZ a standout in the global ETF options arena.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/02/traders-pile-into-this-international-stock-market-thats-beating-the-nasdaq.html
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Do your own research and consult a licensed professional before making financial decisions.
