Turkey ETF Gets Crushed, Put Volume Soars

Traders are digesting negative headlines about Turkey-U.S. relations

Concerns over relations between Turkey and the U.S. are sending the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF (TUR) sharply lower today. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) was last seen trading down 8.9% at $24.62, setting it up for its lowest close since early January, and the first below the 80-day moving average since around the same time. In the meantime, put trading has picked up.

More than 1,600 put contracts have traded today, ranking in the 85th annual percentile. The most active option by far is the April 22 put, where new positions are being opened. Those buying the puts expect more downside for the ETF in the coming weeks. The May 24 put is also seeing notable trading.

Puts regularly see more attention than calls in TUR's options pits. For starters, put buying has been more popular than call buying during the past 10 days at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Moreover, the Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) comes in at 1.53, showing put open interest outweighs call open interest for contracts expiring within three months.

Today's sharp slide comes after a relatively quiet stretch for the security. This is based on its 60-day historical volatility reading of 26.5%, which is only 1 percentage point from a 12-month low.