The stock market is an active ecosystem constantly influenced by various factors. One such factor, occurring four times a year, is the “triple witching.” This event, which takes place on the third Friday of March,

Stocks rallied to record highs on Thursday ahead of one of Wall Street's scariest-sounding events, set for Friday: a triple-witching. Here's what triple-witching is, and what it means for your stock portfolio.

Investors will see option contracts tied to more than $5 trillion in tradeable stocks expire on Friday in the latest quarterly “triple witching” event.

Just as Wall Street traders come to grips with the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut, Friday’s US options expiration threatens to whipsaw the market some more.

S&P 500 wavered in the triple witching open (allowing for early intraday short calls), and then the retracement higher almost all the way till the close, ruled – except for the action before the very closing bell. What could be behind that, and does it carry implications for stock prices ahead?

Friday’s market close marked the end of a “triple witching” session where $5.1 trillion in stock index futures, stock index options, and stock options expire simultaneously. September’s triple witching comes the same week as the Federal Reserve kicks off its rate-cutting cycle and a rebalancing of the S&P 500 (^GSPC).

The quarterly “triple-witching” will see some $5.1 trillion worth of options tied to individual stocks, indexes and exchange-traded funds fall off the board, according to an estimate from derivatives analytical firm Asym 500.