Yemen Launches Offensive to Retake Areas from Houthis

Yemen's internationally recognized government launched a full-scale military bid to recapture all areas under the control of the Houthis, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. The offensive follows weeks of heightened regional escalation between the Iran-backed group and Saudi Arabia, marking an abrupt expansion in ground hostilities across the southern Arabian Peninsula. The military operation lands on an already strained Middle Eastern tape, following earlier claims by Houthi forces targeting Saudi Aramco energy sites. While headline risk usually rattles energy contracts first, the macro options book that I track has not absorbed a shock into index structures yet. On the equity book, major indexes were positioned with comfortable shock absorbers ahead of the weekend. SPY sits at 769.64, holding comfortably in long gamma above its 768.04 flip line, framed by a 775 call wall and a 760 put wall. QQQ trades at 749.58, also operating in positive gamma above its 748.08 flip, with dealers positioned between the 755 call wall and 736 put wall. In small caps, IWM holds at 281.52, maintaining positive territory above its 280.02 flip against a 284 call wall and 277 put wall. When spot holds above the flip, dealers are structured to buffer intraday drift by selling into strength and buying dips, keeping baseline movement muted unless a headline generates enough volume to dislodge positioning. Over on the crypto board, which trades continuously around headline flows, majors reflect mixed dealer positioning. Bitcoin trades at 85,180 on my tape, remaining in positive gamma territory above its 84,497.10 flip with net GEX positive at 15,114,396.99. Ethereum trades at 2,699.29, sitting just beneath its 2,702.75 flip with net GEX negative at -826,686.98, leaving dealers positioned to accelerate dips rather than cushion them. Geopolitical developments test these boundaries, but until spot crosses the flip, the tape remains defined by existing walls.