2 stocks currently make up 15% of the S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY).
It’s the most concentrated the index has ever been. Passing the 9.1% concentration in MSFT and GE from right before the dot-com bust.
These are the market’s biggest heavyweights.
I just announced a trade on one of these behemoths. And anyone who followed along was free to take gains.
It didn’t even last 24 hours…
That’s the beauty of these setups. With short-dated options, we can realize massive gains in a short time frame to minimize our exposure and overall risk.
The strategy that I used repeats in the market…
The 2 Biggest Stocks in the S&P
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA).
Together, they account for more than 15% of the entire S&P 500.
As Creative Planning president Peter Mallouk recently pointed out, no two stocks have ever held this much sway over the index.
And both earned their spot…
Apple just set a new all-time high, trading at $345 per share last Tuesday. The rally took off after the company unveiled the iPhone 18 and its first-ever foldable phone, the Duo, earlier this month.
That pushed the stock up 25% year-to-date.
Shares have cooled slightly since the high as rising 10-year Treasury yields weigh on the broader market. But the momentum behind the iPhone maker is impossible to ignore.
Nvidia has its own story…
In late August, the chip giant said it expects its business to grow at least 70% next fiscal year. And according to CEO Jensen Huang, that number would top 100% if supply constraints weren’t holding it back.
In other words, demand is outrunning what Nvidia can produce.
Not to mention, the company just authorized a $235 billion stock buyback.
It’s up 22% year-to-date.
When two stocks carry this much weight, every move they make ripples through the market. A strong day for Apple or Nvidia can lift the whole index. A bad day can drag it down.
That’s exactly why these names are so valuable for traders…
The potential for big moves with deep options liquidity.
It’s the kind of setup where short-dated options shine.
My Bounce Trade
On Tuesday, September 29, I sent this alert to traders in the afternoon:
“BUY AAPL 10/5/26 335 CALLS”
“Apple is down 2 days in a row where it has pretty good consolidation support near the 330 level. Good spot to get some calls.”
AAPL was on its second down day amidst a market that was rallying on fresh AI momentum…
Earlier that week, NVDA unveiled its multi-billion-dollar buyback as well as its newest tool to stop AI agents from going rogue.
Both of those catalysts reignited AI optimism in the market. I speculated that AAPL could bounce off the multi-week support at $330 due to the renewed bullish sentiment.
Here’s the daily chart that shows $330 support on AAPL:
Here’s a 2-day chart that shows the intraday price action with my alert:
On Wednesday, less than 24 hours later, I alerted traders to exit the position with gains.
It was a quick trade, and that’s exactly how I like it.
- We can pull big gains without tying up capital.
- We can find multiple short-term setups in a single week.
- If a trade goes bad, we know right away.
Trade alongside the market sentiment. Then look for an entry that lines up with support.
Stay Street Smart,
Jeff Zananiri
