Levels · 2026 · August · 21
NQ and gold GEX levels for August 21, 2026
The option-positioning levels that were on the desk before the New York open on , for Nasdaq-100 and gold futures, kept exactly as they were computed.
01 / The pre-open run
What the chain said before the open
Read at 08:00 New York time, before the cash open. The fourth column is the part no page about the current session can carry: what each level did against the previous session in the archive.
Nasdaq-100 futures · NQ · one tick = 0.25 points per tick
| Level | Price | Distance from the contract | Change from the previous archived session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract at the run | 29,511.50NQ index points | —this is the reference price | +132.70index points since the previous archived run |
| Call wall | 30,084.30NQ index points | +572.80index points · 2,291 ticks · 0.25 points per tick | +34.60index points · 138 ticks |
| Gamma flip | 29,403.90NQ index points | −107.60index points · 430 ticks · 0.25 points per tick | −123.90index points · 496 ticks |
| Put wall | 28,848.00NQ index points | −663.50index points · 2,654 ticks · 0.25 points per tick | +33.20index points · 133 ticks |
| Peak gamma strike | 29,589.80NQ index points | +78.30index points · 313 ticks · 0.25 points per tick | +775.00index points · 3,100 ticks |
| Max pain | —no usable strike in this run | —no distance without both prices | —no earlier session archived |
| Regime | Positive gammastate of dealer hedging, not a direction | —a state, not a distance | Negative gamma → Positive gammathe regime changed |
Derived from listed QQQ option positioning · all levels within the plausible band
Gold futures · GC · one tick = 0.10 dollars per tick
| Level | Price | Distance from the contract | Change from the previous archived session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract at the run | 4,656.80US dollars per ounce | —this is the reference price | +129.30dollars per ounce since the previous archived run |
| Call wall | 4,675.30US dollars per ounce | +18.50dollars per ounce · 185 ticks · 0.10 dollars per tick | +11.30dollars per ounce · 113 ticks |
| Gamma flip | 4,162.30US dollars per ounce | −494.50dollars per ounce · 4,945 ticks · 0.10 dollars per tick | +20.40dollars per ounce · 204 ticks |
| Put wall | 3,896.10US dollars per ounce | −760.70dollars per ounce · 7,607 ticks · 0.10 dollars per tick | +9.50dollars per ounce · 95 ticks |
| Peak gamma strike | 4,675.30US dollars per ounce | +18.50dollars per ounce · 185 ticks · 0.10 dollars per tick | +11.30dollars per ounce · 113 ticks |
| Max pain | —no usable strike in this run | —no distance without both prices | —no earlier session archived |
| Regime | Positive gammastate of dealer hedging, not a direction | —a state, not a distance | Unchangedsame as the previous archived session |
Derived from listed GLD option positioning · all levels within the plausible band
02 / Later runs
The same session, read again at 11:00 and 14:00
Positioning moves during a session; these are the later reads of the same chain
| Contract and run | Gamma flip | Call wall | Put wall |
|---|---|---|---|
| NQ · 11:00 ET | 29,441.80NQ index points | 30,094.40NQ index points | 28,857.60NQ index points |
| NQ · 14:00 ET | 29,442.10NQ index points | 30,088.00NQ index points | 28,851.50NQ index points |
| GC · 11:00 ET | 4,111.10US dollars per ounce | 4,696.20US dollars per ounce | 3,867.40US dollars per ounce |
| GC · 14:00 ET | 4,058.00US dollars per ounce | 4,689.20US dollars per ounce | 3,696.20US dollars per ounce |
Three runs, three timestamps taken from the data files themselves. None of them was recorded while the session was open to the reader.
03 / The episode
What was said that morning
No episode was recorded for this session. The episodes that do exist are on the market prep page.
04 / Provenance
Where these numbers came from
Every level on this page is a strike of a listed option chain, converted to the futures contract with the ratio between the two at the moment of the run. The mechanism, and what it cannot do, is on the page that explains these levels. What the archive holds, which sessions are missing from it and why, is on the record. If you want the method the zones come from, it is the seven-module course.
- Nasdaq-100 futures
- ratio 41.211 NQ index points per 1.00 US dollar of QQQ; the fund's print was not archived for this session; put/call not archived for this session; net gamma exposure not archived for this session.
- Gold futures
- ratio 11.132 US dollars per ounce per 1.00 US dollar of GLD; the fund's print was not archived for this session; put/call not archived for this session; net gamma exposure not archived for this session.
- Archived from
- The run of , kept as computed and not revised since.
- What is missing, and why
- Until 16 September 2026 the pipeline overwrote its own files every run, so the sessions before that date survive only through the morning log, which recorded the four levels, the ratio and the contract price and nothing else. The missing fields are named as missing rather than estimated.
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