CBOE Volatility Index ^VIX Charts, Data & News Yahoo Finance

The VIX often drops on days when the broader market rallies and soars when stocks plunge. It tends to be lower in bull markets and higher when the bears are in control. The Fear & Greed Index uses increasing market volatility as a signal for Fear. When investors trade options, they are essentially placing bets on where they think the price of a specific security will go. In many cases, large institutional investors will use options trading to hedge their current positions.

So, if the big firms on Wall Street are anticipating an upswing or downswing in the broader market, they may try to hedge against that volatility by placing options trades. If many of the large investment firms are anticipating the same thing, there is usually a spike Narrative and Numbers in options trading for the S&P 500. The VIX index uses the bid/ask prices of options trading for the S&P 500 index in order to gauge investor sentiment for the larger financial market. Prices are weighted to gauge whether investors believe the S&P 500 index will be gaining ground or losing value over the near term. The VIX, formally known as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index, measures how much volatility professional investors think the S&P 500 index will experience over the next 30 days.

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The VIX is merely a suggestion, and it’s been proven to be wrong about the future direction of markets nearly as often as it’s been right. That’s why most everyday investors are best served by regularly investing in diversified, low-cost index funds and letting dollar-cost averaging smooth out any pricing swings over the long term. One of the most popular and accessible of these is the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY), which is based on VIX futures contracts with a 30-day maturity. The VIX index measures volatility by tracking trading in S&P 500 options. Large institutional investors hedge their portfolios using S&P 500 options to position themselves as winners whether the market goes up or down, and the VIX index follows these trades to gauge market volatility. The CBOE Volatility Index—also known as the VIX—is a primary gauge of stock market volatility.

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The theory is based on the logic that excessive fear tends to drive down share prices, and too much greed tends to have the opposite effect. Downside risk can be adequately hedged by buying put options, the price of which depends on market volatility. Astute investors tend to buy options when the VIX is relatively low and put premiums are cheap.

The Fear & Greed Index uses decreasing trading volume as a signal for Fear. However, the VIX can be traded through futures contracts, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that own these futures contracts. For instance, a stock having a beta of +1.5 indicates that it is theoretically 50% more volatile than the market. Traders making bets through options of such high beta stocks utilize the VIX volatility values in appropriate proportion to correctly price their options trades. The VIX has paved the way for using volatility as a tradable asset, albeit through derivative products. CBOE launched the first VIX-based exchange-traded futures contract in March 2004, followed by the launch of VIX options in February 2006.

When the ratio of puts to calls is rising, it is usually a sign investors are growing more nervous. The Fear & Greed Index uses a bearish options ratio as a signal for renewable energy stocks Fear. Perhaps the most straightforward way to invest in the VIX is with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) based on VIX futures.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree from Bridgewater State University and helps develop content strategies. Pages are initially sorted in a specific order (depending on the data presented). You can re-sort the page by clicking on any of the column headings in the table.

As long as prices remain above the average there is strength in the market. Before purchasing a security tied to an index like the VIX, it’s important to understand all of your options so that you can make educated decisions about your investment choices. If you’re interested in investing in a VIX ETF/ETN, we recommend that you speak with a financial professional first to make sure your investment strategy fits your needs. In 2025, major stock indexes like the S&P 500 have whipsawed as markets have reacted to the ever-changing news about new tariffs.

  • The more dramatic the price swings are in the index, the higher the level of volatility, and vice versa.
  • The VIX is one the main indicators for understanding when the market is possibly headed for a big move up or down or when it may be ready to quiet down after a period of volatility.
  • For the major indices on the site, this widget shows the percentage of stocks contained in the index that are above their 20-Day, 50-Day, 100-Day, 150-Day, and 200-Day Moving Averages.
  • The formula used by Cboe to calculate the price of VIX is rather complex, and the price of VIX is updated live during trading hours every 15 seconds.
  • The VIX index tracks the tendency of the S&P 500 to move away from and then revert to the mean.

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  • When combined with fundamentals and other analytical tools, the Index can be a helpful way to assess market sentiment.
  • In finance, mean reversion is a key principle that suggests asset prices generally remain close to their long-term averages.
  • As exchange-traded products, you can buy and sell these securities like stocks, greatly simplifying your VIX investing strategy.

Our estimates are based on past market performance, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Technicals are calculated and updated every 20 minutes during the trading day using delayed market data. Examples include the CBOE Short-Term Volatility Index (VIX9D), which reflects the nine-day expected volatility of the S&P 500 Index; the CBOE S&P Month Volatility Index (VIX3M); and the CBOE S&P Month Volatility Index (VIX6M). Products based on other market indexes include the Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index (VXN); the CBOE DJIA Volatility Index (VXD); and the CBOE Russell 2000 Volatility Index (RVX). Unique to Barchart.com, data tables contain an option that allows you to see more data for the symbol without leaving the page.

Key data points

The VIX volatility index offers insight into how financial professionals are feeling about near-term market conditions. Understanding how the VIX works and what it’s saying can help short-term traders tweak their portfolios and get a feel for where the market is headed. Over long periods, index options have tended to price in slightly more uncertainty than the market ultimately realizes. Specifically, the expected volatility implied by SPX option prices tends to trade at a premium relative to subsequent realized volatility in the S&P 500 Index. Market participants have used VIX futures and options to capitalize on this general difference between expected (implied) and realized (actual) volatility, and other types of volatility arbitrage strategies.

Click the « + » icon in the first column (on the left) to view more data for the selected symbol. Scroll through widgets of the different content available for the symbol. The « More Data » widgets are also available from the Links column of the right side of the data table. Experts understand what the VIX is telling them through the lens of mean lexatrade review reversion. In finance, mean reversion is a key principle that suggests asset prices generally remain close to their long-term averages. If prices gain a great deal very quickly, or fall very far, very rapidly, the principle of mean reversion suggests they should snap back to their long-term average before long.

It helps market participants gauge potential risks and make informed trading decisions, such as whether to hedge or make directional trades. While the VIX itself is an index and cannot be traded, there are funds and notes investors and traders can participate in to gain exposure to the index. But the reward for investing in stocks over the long haul is greater. Safe Haven Demand shows the difference between Treasury bond and stock returns over the past 20 trading days. The Fear & Greed Index uses increasing safe haven demand as a signal for Fear. Just keep in mind that with investing, there’s no way to predict future stock market performance or time the market.

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She has contributed to numerous outlets, including NPR, Marketwatch, U.S. News & World Report and HuffPost. Miranda is completing her MBA and lives in Idaho, where she enjoys spending time with her son playing board games, travel and the outdoors. At the top, you’ll find a histogram containing today’s high and low price. The histogram shows where the open and last price fall within that range.

Greater volatility means that an index or security is seeing bigger price changes—higher or lower—over shorter periods of time. For people watching the VIX index, it’s understood that the S&P 500 stands in for “the stock market” or “the market” as a whole. When the VIX index moves higher, this reflects the fact that professional investors are responding to more price volatility in the S&P 500 in particular and markets more generally. When the VIX declines, investors are betting there will be smaller price moves up or down in the S&P 500, which implies calmer markets and less uncertainty. The index is more commonly known by its ticker symbol and is often referred to simply as “the VIX.” It was created by the CBOE Options Exchange and is maintained by CBOE Global Markets.

VIX futures provide a pure play on the level of expected volatility. Expressing a long or short sentiment may involve buying or selling VIX futures. Alternatively, VIX options may provide similar means to position a portfolio for potential increases or decreases in anticipated volatility. The formula used by Cboe to calculate the price of VIX is rather complex, and the price of VIX is updated live during trading hours every 15 seconds.