Steel Calls Return to Nucor and Steel Dynamics While Vulcan Draws 85% Puts: Materials Stock Data for Contractor Bids (GTA Terminal, November 10, 2026)

Steel and crushed stone sit in almost every bid a contractor writes, from rebar and structural beams to base rock, asphalt and ready-mix. The public companies that make them, Nucor and Steel Dynamics on the steel side and Vulcan Materials and Martin Marietta on the aggregates side, give a quick read on how big money sees those input markets. In GTA's midday scan on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, GTA Terminal data from Global Traders Academy showed the options money leaning toward calls in both steelmakers, a turn from the put buying of the prior week, while Vulcan drew heavy puts even though its chart was the strongest of the four.

Steel: calls come back while the charts stay soft

Nucor (NUE) traded at $256.75 on November 10, below its 20-day average of $261.79 and just above its 50-day average of $255.28. Its 20-day range ran from $244.64 to $287.70, and the stock sat 28% of the way up it. In GTA's scan, 62% of Nucor's options premium went into calls and 38% into puts. Dark pools were quiet: 463,096 shares traded off the exchanges on November 9, 0.8x normal. GTA called the picture mixed, with $255.28 and $261.79 as the levels to settle it. The longer trend was still up, with the stock 11% below its 52-week high and an RSI of 45.

Steel Dynamics (STLD) leaned further. It traded at $235.62, below both its 20-day average of $241.47 and its 50-day average of $238.29, yet 71% of its options premium went into calls. Off-exchange volume was 303,363 shares on November 9, 0.7x normal. Its chart leaned bearish, with the nearest support at the 20-day low of $221.27, and the stock was 18% below its 52-week high.

Aggregates: Vulcan's chart says up, its options say down

Vulcan Materials (VMC) was the outlier. At $286.63 it sat above its 20-day average of $271.62 and its 50-day average of $257.67, 74% of the way up its 20-day range, in an uptrend with an RSI of 64. But only 15% of its options premium went into calls and 85% into puts. Dark pools were light at 376,762 shares on November 9, 0.7x normal. GTA's read: the chart leans bullish, the flow leans bearish, and the levels to watch are $271.62 and $303.11.

Martin Marietta (MLM) traded at $520.82, just above its 20-day average of $517.45 and its 50-day average of $502.79. Its options premium split 43% calls and 57% puts, a mixed read, and 386,933 shares traded off the exchanges on November 9, 0.9x normal. GTA's levels to settle it were $517.45 below and the 20-day high of $571.63 above.

What this means for your bids and material orders

• Steel buyers: the selling pressure eased, but nothing is settled. A week earlier, both steelmakers drew puts after a selloff. Calls returning on soft charts suggests some traders see the worst as past. If you buy rebar, joists or plate, this is a reason to keep getting fresh quotes rather than lock long-term prices on a falling market assumption.

• Aggregates: watch the hedge on the leader. Heavy puts on Vulcan while its stock sits near the top of its range can be protection on gains rather than a bet on a collapse. For paving and site contractors, stone prices are local and set by the quarry, but an investor hedge on the biggest producer is worth noting before you sign long-dated supply agreements.

• Mixed reads favor flexibility. When the chart, the flow and the dark pools disagree, short quote windows and escalation clauses in long bids protect your margin either way.

Each company's levels and flow update on its own page: the Nucor steel stock page, the Steel Dynamics data page, the Vulcan Materials quote and flow page and the Martin Marietta stock data. The scans behind this piece come from the last session's options flow on materials stocks.

A word of caution

Options flow and dark pool data are a signal, not a guarantee. Put buying on a rising stock is often a hedge, and call buying on a falling one can be early. None of this predicts your local material prices. This is market data for context, not investment advice.

The bottom line

GTA Terminal data from November 10 shows call money returning to Nucor and Steel Dynamics on soft charts, while Vulcan drew 85% puts on a strong one and Martin Marietta stayed mixed. For contractors pricing steel and stone into bids, the message is to keep quotes fresh and terms flexible. For the earlier readings, see our look at Nucor and Steel Dynamics after the steel selloff and our Vulcan versus Martin Marietta comparison.

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