The options market is signaling that some investors are making significant bets on a sharp decline in long-term U.S. interest rates. According to Dow Jones Market Data and MarketWatch on October 7, popular ETFs linked to long-term U.S. Treasuries and utility stocks, including the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU), have seen a notable increase in call option trading volume recently. Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, stated that this "very directly" reflects traders' expectations for lower long-term interest rates. Currently, 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury yields have risen to multi-decade highs, with TLT's year-to-date total return loss at approximately 8.4% and XLU having declined about 10% over the past three months.