IEF Gamma Walls
The strikes where dealer hedging concentrates on IEF: the put wall that tends to hold as support, the call wall that tends to cap the upside, and the hedge wall where that hedging flips from damping moves to accelerating them.
Standard reading applies for this name: above the Hedge Wall, dealer hedging tends to dampen movement (calmer, more mean-reverting); below it, hedging tends to amplify movement (trendier, higher volatility).
Where the walls have sat
Walls are recomputed every session from that day’s open interest. A level that keeps reappearing at the same strike is positioning that has not moved; one that walks with price is positioning being rebuilt around it.
| Session | Spot | Put wall | Hedge wall | Call wall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2026 | 93.30 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Aug 13, 2026 | 92.96 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Aug 12, 2026 | 92.87 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Aug 11, 2026 | 92.76 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Aug 10, 2026 | 93.17 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 92.95 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 93.31 | 92 | 93 | 95 |
| Aug 5, 2026 | 93.25 | 92 | 93 | 95 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | 92.82 | 91 | 93 | 94 |
| Aug 3, 2026 | 92.95 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
IEF gamma walls, explained
What is a gamma wall?
Dealers who sold IEF options hedge continuously in the underlying. The strikes where that hedging concentrates behave like magnets: heavy put open interest below spot means dealers buy stock as price falls toward it, which slows the fall — the put wall. Heavy call open interest above spot works the other way and caps rallies — the call wall.
What makes the hedge wall different?
The hedge wall is not a level price bounces off — it is where the character of the hedging changes. Above it dealers are positioned so their hedging damps moves and the name grinds; below it the same hedging amplifies moves and ranges widen. It matters more for what kind of week to expect than for any single price.
Are these open-interest walls or gamma-weighted?
Gamma-weighted, and on net gamma rather than gross — which is the distinction that actually moves the answer. The raw open-interest peaks are on the IEF max pain page if you want to compare the two; they frequently disagree, and when they do the gamma-weighted read is the one describing where hedging pressure sits.
Why is the public page delayed?
Same reason the unusual-flow archive is: the levels are most valuable on the day, and that day is what AIme Premium pays for. The history here is real and complete up to the 15-day cutoff — enough to judge whether IEF’s walls actually hold before deciding whether today’s are worth having.
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Educational, not investment advice. Options involve risk. Open interest is reported with a one-session lag by OCC, so these levels describe positioning as of the last settled session, not live intraday flow.