What do witches, $4.7 trillion, and a late-night stock market twist have in common?
And what does Trump’s latest pick say about his plans for America’s money game?
It all happened in a single day—markets flipped, power players moved, and behind it all, a quiet storm was brewing. You’re about to see how Wall Street’s wild ride met Washington’s surprise twist. Buckle up.
Table of Contents
1. The Witches Are Back: Quadruple Witching Day Hits Again
March 21 was what’s known in the options market as “Quadruple Witching Day.” It happens four times a year—on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December—when all the “witches” show up at once.
Back in the day, Europeans believed witches stirred up chaos with their spells. That’s where the term came from. In finance, the “four witches” are when single stock futures and options, and index futures and options, all expire on the same day.
Because options settle based on the strike price at expiration, things get intense as the date approaches—traders start playing mind games, and prices swing wildly.
Now imagine that happening with four types of contracts at once. Yeah, the market gets jumpy. This round of witching actually passed without too much trouble.
But the ride there? It was like a financial thriller. On this one day, about $4.7 trillion worth of options expired. The star of the show? A massive $2.8 trillion in S&P options. The U.S. market was sluggish for most of the day. But then, in the final 15 minutes before closing, a sudden wave of buying hit. That late buying flipped the market to a slightly positive finish.
At first glance, the closing numbers didn’t look too wild. But that last-minute surge was a big deal. Put simply—it showed how much power the options players can have when it matters most. They had enough weight to pull the S&P upward at the last second.
2. Meanwhile, in D.C.: Trump Picks Bowman Over Waller
Outside the stock market, something interesting happened in Washington. Christopher Waller, a Fed governor, issued a public statement. In it, he said the Fed’s current pace of QT—quantitative tightening—is just fine and doesn’t need to slow down.
Now, the Fed had recently decided to lower the monthly cap on Treasury runoff from $25 billion to $5 billion starting in April. Waller disagreed with that move. Waller’s not just any Fed guy—he’s one of the real power players behind the scenes.
But here’s the twist: Trump didn’t go with Waller. Instead, he picked Michelle Bowman. On March 12, Trump nominated Bowman—currently a Fed governor—to become Vice Chair of the Fed.
Trump has said loud and clear that he wants to bring down Treasury yields.
Usually, the way to lower yields is to reduce the supply of Treasuries. When supply shrinks, Treasuries become more scarce, prices go up, and yields go down. But Trump isn’t focused on supply—he’s looking at demand.
He’s pressuring other countries, especially U.S. allies, to buy more U.S. Treasuries—tying it to tariffs and trade deals.
At the same time, he wants to ease rules on big U.S. banks so they can scoop up more Treasuries too.
That first idea—pressuring allies—comes from a report by Steven Miran, the current head of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. Miran argued that “since America’s allies rely on the U.S. for national security, they should return the favor by buying our debt.” And to get them to the negotiating table, the U.S. should turn up the heat with tariffs or trade pressure.
As for U.S. banks, Trump started this push by nudging out Michael Barr, who used to be the Fed’s Vice Chair. Barr had tightened rules on banks buying Treasuries after the SVB collapse, since that bank held too many long-dated government bonds. Now, Trump has tapped Bowman to take Barr’s place—and she has a completely different view.
When Barr said the SVB meltdown meant bank oversight needed to get tougher, Bowman pushed back. She said “we need to look at the unique traits and business models of the affected banks, not slam the whole industry with new rules.”
She didn’t think sweeping regulations were justified. That makes Bowman a regulatory dove—someone who prefers a lighter touch when it comes to bank oversight. Waller, who’s been seen as a likely successor to Jerome Powell as Fed Chair, probably wasn’t thrilled about Bowman being promoted.
And now? He seems to be taking a more hawkish stance again.
Two Tracks, One Target
Trump’s mission to bring down U.S. Treasury yields isn’t riding on hope—it’s running on a double-barreled strategy. On one side, he’s easing up on banks so they can load up on Treasuries. On the other, he’s putting tariffs in the spotlight, nudging U.S. allies to buy in—or pay up. It’s regulation rollbacks at home, and debt diplomacy abroad.
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