HYG GEX Heatmap - Live Gamma Exposure
Free HYG gamma exposure heatmap for iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF: GEX across strikes and expirations, with the HYG call wall, put wall, and gamma flip highlighted. The heatmap below is pre-filled with HYG — hit search to generate it.
Visualize gamma exposure across strike prices and expirations. Green = positive (call-heavy), purple = negative (put-heavy).
GEX Workspace
Multi-ticker dashboard with alerts
GEX Intraday PlayTape
Intraday gamma movement & replay
Max Pain Calculator
Options pain strike by expiration
What is a GEX Heatmap?
A GEX (Gamma Exposure) Heatmap is a visualization tool that displays net gamma exposure across multiple strike prices and expiration dates in a color-coded grid. Each cell in the heatmap represents the net gamma at a specific strike for a specific expiration. Green cells indicate positive gamma (call-dominated strikes), while purple or red cells indicate negative gamma (put-dominated strikes). The color intensity reflects the magnitude of gamma at that point.
Unlike a standard GEX chart that aggregates all expirations into a single view, the heatmap breaks down gamma exposure per expiration, revealing how the options landscape evolves over time. This makes it easier to spot where specific expirations contribute the most gamma, and how the call wall, put wall, and gamma flip zones shift as you look further out in time.
How to Read the Gamma Exposure Heatmap
The heatmap table has strike prices on the vertical axis and expiration dates along the top. Here is how to interpret the data:
- Green cells: Positive net gamma — call gamma exceeds put gamma at that strike/expiration. These strikes act as “magnets” that attract and stabilize price.
- Purple/red cells: Negative net gamma — put gamma exceeds call gamma. These strikes can amplify price moves as market makers hedge in the same direction as price.
- Key Levels sidebar: Shows the aggregated call wall, put wall, and gamma inflection point across all displayed expirations.
- Net GEX by Expiry: Displays total net gamma for each expiration, showing which dates contribute the most hedging pressure.
The strongest color intensities indicate the most important gamma levels. Look for clusters of intense green above the current price (resistance) and clusters of intense purple below (support).
Understanding Call Walls and Put Walls
Call walls and put walls are the strike prices where market makers hold the most gamma exposure. These levels are critical for understanding intraday price dynamics:
- Call Wall: The strike with the highest positive gamma exposure. As the stock approaches this level, market makers who are long gamma will sell shares to hedge, creating resistance. This typically acts as a price ceiling in positive gamma environments.
- Put Wall: The strike with the largest put gamma exposure — shown as the deepest negative bar, since put GEX is charted as negative. As price drops toward this level, market makers buy shares to hedge, creating support. This acts as a price floor.
- Gamma Flip: The price level where total gamma transitions from positive to negative. Above this point, market makers dampen moves. Below it, they amplify moves. This is the volatility regime boundary.
The heatmap allows you to see which expirations contribute most to these key levels, helping you understand how persistent or temporary the support and resistance zones may be.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to read the HYG GEX heatmap
The HYG GEX heatmap is asymmetric by nature, and that asymmetry is the signal. Expect the put side of the grid to carry most of the intensity in normal conditions; what you are watching for is a change in degree, not direction. Put cells brightening across several expiration columns at once means allocators are extending credit hedges further out in time, which historically precedes spread widening. Call-side cells are sparse and usually reflect covered-call income programs on bond holdings rather than directional bets.
Want the single-expiration strike profile instead? See the live HYG GEX levels and chart, or read our guide to how gamma works in options.
HYG GEX heatmap FAQ
What is a HYG GEX heatmap?
A HYG GEX heatmap plots gamma exposure for iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF options across strike prices (rows) and expiration dates (columns) in a color-coded grid. Green cells mark positive, call-dominated gamma; purple cells mark negative, put-dominated gamma; intensity shows magnitude.
How do I read the HYG GEX heatmap?
Find the brightest cells near the current HYG price: the strongest positive cell is typically the call wall (resistance) and the strongest negative cell the put wall (support). Reading across a row shows how a strike's importance persists over expirations; reading down a column shows the gamma landscape for one expiry.
What are the current HYG GEX levels?
HYG GEX levels change with price and positioning throughout the session. Run the heatmap above to compute the latest HYG call wall, put wall, and gamma flip level from live options data.
Is the HYG GEX heatmap free?
Yes. You can generate the HYG GEX heatmap for free without an account (limited daily uses). A free QuantWheel account raises the limit, and the GEX Dashboard adds unlimited heatmaps, auto-refresh, and multi-ticker workspaces.
Unlimited HYG heatmaps with auto-refresh
The QuantWheel GEX Dashboard removes daily limits and adds auto-refreshing heatmaps, intraday replay, and wall-movement alerts for HYG and every other ticker.
Open the GEX Dashboard