VIX surges above 17 as equities fall
Volatility in the equity indexes continued to rise as they pushed lower yesterday.
The S&P 500 was down 16.68 points, or 1.02 percent, to close at 1626.13. That brings the SPX back to Friday's open. Shares were relatively volatile, at first falling 1 percent, then making it back, but eventually dropping again in the afternoon. First support is at 1609 while resistance is at 1670.
The Nasdaq 100 gave up 30.65 points to finish up at 2959.84. It had similar volatility and also finished just above the morning lows. It has support at 2937 and resistance at 3000.
The Russell 2000 gave up 11.22 points to close at 981.45. It has support at 968, and resistance remains at 1000.
The CBOE Volatility Index jumped up 1.63 points, or 10.56 percent, to 17.07. That is just above the 10-day historical volatility of the SPX at 15.2 percent.
The VIX futures were also higher. The June futures, which have a week left of trade, were up 1.30 points to 16.90, back below the spot VIX reading. The July futures gained 0.85 points to close at 17.55. This had the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (:VXX) up 6.6 percent to $20.02.
The VIX options turned over 726,000 contracts, led by 530,000 calls. The action pushed the VVIX up 11.3 percent to 92.32. The VXX options also saw heavy action with 450,000 contracts traded, through puts outpaced calls by a small margin in that name.
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