New stock highs push VIX below 13
Equities raced to new highs yesterday, but the CBOE Volatility Index posted only a modest decline as it slipped below 13.
The S&P 500 broke above 1700 for the first time as it finished the day up 21.14 points, or 1.25 percent, to 1706.87. That was just about a point off the intraday high reached right before the bell. It has support at 1670.
The Nasdaq 100 gained 36.12 points to 3126.30. That was a new 13-year closing high and just off a new intraday high also hit just minutes before the bell. It has support at 3030.
The Russell 2000 jumped 14.61 points to end at 1059.87, up 1.4 percent. It too was about a point off an intraday right before the end of the session. It has support at 1040.
(When equity indexes are at highs, further resistance levels are obviously projections not based on previous trading patterns, so I will refrain from listing them.)
The VIX was down 0.51 points, or 3.79 percent, to 12.94. Even with this decline, the volatility index remains well above its 52-week lows around 11. It is also still much higher than the S&P 500's actual volatility, which picked up with yesterday's sharp move.
The VIX futures followed lower. The August contracts gave up 0.30 points to close at 13.60, and the September futures fell 0.35 points to 15.05. That had the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (:VXX) down 3.09 percent to yet another new closing low of $14.60.
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