US shares rose as positive tech earnings kept demand strong. Trading was quiet, but the US moved ahead while other regions lagged.
Results from AMD and TSMC supported expectations of ongoing AI-related demand. Europe gained less support from this theme because technology has a smaller share of its main stock indices.
Us Europe Market Divergence
Market conditions also differed due to continued supply disruptions. This left the US outlook stronger than Europe’s in the current environment.
Bitcoin stayed above $80k as its rebound from February’s lows continued. The move was supported by inflows and a generally risk-on market tone.
With these factors in place, bitcoin had scope to test $90k again.
Looking back to early 2025, we saw a clear divergence between US tech strength and European markets. This signaled an opportunity for pair trades, such as buying call options on the Nasdaq 100 while simultaneously buying puts on indices like the German DAX. That strategy proved effective, as the Nasdaq 100 went on to rally over 30% through the rest of 2025, while the DAX managed only a 9% gain due to persistent energy cost concerns.
Bitcoin And Tech Options Setup
Today, that AI-driven narrative continues to dominate, creating high expectations for tech. With implied volatility on major tech stocks sitting near 18-month lows, traders might consider buying call option spreads to position for further upside at a lower cost. Recent earnings from major cloud providers showed a 45% year-over-year increase in AI-related service demand, reinforcing this bullish outlook for the coming weeks.
The recovery in Bitcoin during early 2025 from its February lows was a pivotal moment. As it held above $80,000, bullish traders began loading up on call options targeting the $90,000 and even $100,000 strike prices for later in the year. This optimism was rewarded when Bitcoin did indeed breach $100,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Now, with Bitcoin trading around $115,000, the market is showing signs of consolidation. Given the recent choppy price action, selling short-dated, out-of-the-money puts or calls—a strategy known as a short strangle—could allow traders to collect premium from the expected range-bound movement. Data from last week shows that net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs have slowed to just $500 million, a sharp decrease from the multi-billion dollar weekly inflows seen earlier this year, supporting this neutral outlook.
