- The Triple Witching Day is also often referred to as the triple expiration date.
- Triple Witching Day occurs four times a year, on the third Friday of March, June, September and December.
- It marks the time when the expiration of stock index futures, stock index options and stock options occurs on the same day.
- Triple Witching Day typically creates short-term bursts of extra volatility in the financial markets, as prices react to contracts expiry.
- The volatility mostly affects index futures including the FTSE, DAX and Dow Jones.
Beware of market volatility when this happens
As Triple Witching is essentially the expiry of stock index futures, stock index options and stock options contracts all on the same day, traders know this and often look to trade in or out of these markets in order to affect the expiry (settlement price) or better their broader portfolio. Stock futures can often jump or fall between 0.5% to 1% (or more) within seconds, as these contracts expire or are about to expire. As such, traders expect heightened price volatility on Triple Witching Day.