Wall Street’s ‘Fear Gauge’ Spikes. Volatility Is Returning to Markets.
The calm didn’t last long. After a brief dip, investors are bracing for further stock-market volatility in the face of a potential trade war.
The Cboe Volatility Index, which tracks S&P 500 options and trades under the ticker VIX, rose 23% to 20.26 in early trading on Monday. A reading above 20 is typically seen as a sign of relatively high volatility.
It’s still not a sign of a full-blown panic. A reading over 30 would signal volatility is starting to get extreme. However, it is the second major spike in just a week, with the index also surging above 20 last Monday when Chinese firm DeepSeek’s low-cost AI models roiled the market.