In the 2016 market rout, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index has been hit particularly hard, falling 10 percent in the first two weeks of the year. And while the panic has yet to reach levels seen in previous market plunges, one options trader says it's a good time for investors to protect against further losses.
On Friday, Dennis Davitt of Harvest Volatility Advisors recommended buying put options in the Nasdaq 100 ETF, QQQ.
"I would not bet against the QQQ here, but I would certainly buy protection against it. I would put gloves on to catch that falling knife," Davitt said.
Davitt also noted the price of protection in the market looks relatively cheap right now, given that volatility during the sell-off remains muted compared to during the summer swoon.
On Friday, the CBOE Volatility Index rose 12 percent as stocks dropped more than 2 percent. Also known as the VIX, the index is a widely used "fear gauge" in the market, based on the price of S&P 500 options. Higher prices for protective options trades often indicates higher levels of market uncertainty.
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But at 27, the VIX is still a far ways off from its August high of 40.
"This is the worst market in 100 years, but what we're not seeing is a really high price of protection," Davitt said Friday on CNBC's "Trading Nation."
However, technician Katie Stockton of BTIG said if QQQ breaks below $100, it could fall another 10 percent to the $90 level. On Friday, the ETF dropped more than 3 percent to close at a little under $101.
"I'm one of those that has thrown in the towel on the bull market at least for now," Stockton said Friday on "Trading Nation." "In the past couple weeks, the loss of momentum we have seen, especially in technology, has been so significant that we've seen a whole lot of breakdowns on the charts."
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