Triple Witching

Triple witching occurs when stock options, stock index options and stock index futures expire on the same day. This occurs 4 times a year on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Triple witching refers to the last trading hours(3pm to 4 pm New York Time) of these days.

Triple witching may cause volatility in the markets as traders offset and/or close positions before expiration. However, this has little impact for long term investors.