18th Feb 2026 – 24th Feb 2026
VIX rising from 12.65 → 14.15 tells the real story.
This was a stress week for structured premium sellers.
Last week was about dispersion.
This week was about pressure.
As I reviewed the dashboards, one pattern was obvious:
Rising volatility exposed weak positioning.
This wasn’t a crash week.
But it was uncomfortable for many structured systems.
Market Snapshot
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Nifty 50: 25,752 → 25,424
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Bank Nifty: 61,255 → 61,047
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India VIX: 12.65 → 14.15
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Nifty drifted lower through the week
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Bank Nifty lost momentum
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VIX expanded sharply
Rising VIX =
• Premium instability
• Wider swings
• Higher adjustment pressure
This was not a smooth theta week.
Credit Spread Performance (High Dispersion & Stress)
| Strategy | Weekly Return |
|---|---|
| Damper Credit Spread | +11.12% |
| Delta-Rotation Credit Spread Expiry | +8.27% |
| Warp-Drive Credit Spread Exit-Early | +6.65% |
| Curvature Credit Spread Overnight | +5.99% |
| Gamma-Fluxer Credit Spread Overnight | +5.66% |
| Delta-Ripple Credit Spread Overnight | +5.01% |
| Mathematician’s Credit Spread | +1.20% |
Major Drawdowns
| Strategy | Weekly Return |
|---|---|
| Vega-Shift Credit Spread Expiry | -21.83% |
| Theta-Flux Credit Spread Overnight | -21.04% |
| Wave Return Credit Spread Overnight | -15.83% |
| Delta-Shift Credit Spread Expiry | -15.35% |
| IV-Imbalance Credit Spread Overnight | -13.64% |
| Ratio-Weave Credit Spread Expiry | -11.83% |
| Delta-Leverage Credit Spread Overnight | -9.12% |
| Hamilton’s Credit Spread | -9.58% |
| Drifting Credit Spread Overnight | -8.17% |
| Equinox Credit Spread Overnight | -7.58% |
| Ratio-Return Credit Spread Exit-Early | -6.29% |
Flat / Minor Moves:
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Ratio-Fluxer Credit Spread Expiry: 0.00%
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Ratio-Hunter2 Credit Spread: —
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Super Entropy Credits: -2.89%
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Convex Credit Spread Overnight: -1.08%
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Curve-Whisper Credit Spread Overnight: -1.34%
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Chain-Sync Credit Spread Overnight: -2.41%
Credit spreads were highly divided:
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Adaptive & fast-adjusting systems survived.
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Static or volatility-sensitive structures struggled heavily.
This was a volatility regime stress test.
Short Strangle Performance
| Strategy | Weekly Return |
|---|---|
| Compressed Strangle | +2.11% |
| Flux Strangle | +2.05% |
| Theta-Zone Strangle | +0.83% |
| Premium-Zone Strangle | +0.39% |
| Expiry Short Strangle | +0.18% |
| Carry Forward Strangle | -0.59% |
| Holonomy’s Short Strangles | -1.32% |
| Bazaar Short Strangle Overnight | -1.30% |
| Market-Pulse Short Strangle Overnight | -2.24% |
| Intraday Short Strangle | -2.47% |
Short strangles were mixed.
Rising VIX reduced clean decay.
Only tighter, more reactive models held ground.
Short Straddle Performance
| Strategy | Weekly Return |
|---|---|
| Single Lattice Straddle | +5.58% |
| Single Tightgrip Straddle | +4.95% |
| Single Kurtosis Straddle | +1.91% |
| Lattice Short Straddles | +0.12% |
| Quiet Short Straddle | -0.67% |
| Single Rangetrap Straddle | -3.44% |
Straddles handled volatility better than expected this week.
Options & Directional Systems
| Strategy | Weekly Return |
|---|---|
| SkewHunter | +18.78%  |
| SkewHunter TSL | +18.55% |
| Burst RR 1:2 (25% SL) | +3.80% |
| Burst GRID (30% SL) | +3.12% |
| Vacuum GRID (35% SL) | -3.72% |
| Fixed RR 1:3 (30% SL) | -20.01% |
| Index Sniper | -13.88% |
| Index Scalper | -17.48% |
This week rewarded:
• Selective directional precision
• Momentum-aware systems
But punished:
• High RR rigid entries
• Poorly timed breakouts
Index Strategies
| Strategy | Weekly Return |
|---|---|
| Stratzy’s Index Strategies | +0.55% |
Broad index exposure remained relatively stable compared to structured options.
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Nifty drifted lower
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Bank Nifty lost strength
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VIX expanded to 14+
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Credit spreads faced stress
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Select directional systems outperformed
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Regime clearly shifting toward higher volatility
If someone was concentrated in volatility-sensitive spreads — it was painful.
If someone held adaptive spreads + selective directional exposure — damage was controlled.
Portfolio construction > single strategy conviction.
With VIX now above 14:
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Are you reducing short volatility exposure?
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Are you adjusting position sizing?
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Are you ready for further expansion?