Options market activity indicates mounting concern that the recent rally in U.S. technology shares may be nearing a reversal. A Bloomberg report on Aug. 19 says traders are purchasing so-called “disaster” put contracts on the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 ETF—an instrument that tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index—at the quickest rate since the 2022 bear market. The surge in defensive positioning suggests investors are seeking to shield portfolios from a potential sharp drop in the technology-heavy benchmark over the coming weeks. Derivatives strategists, including Jeff Jacobson, note that the scale of the hedging points to expectations of elevated volatility after a summer of steady gains for megacap tech stocks.