By Caitlin McCabe

Wall Street's fear gauge is heading skyward.

-- The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, recently stood nearly 18% higher at about 53.

-- It had jumped above 60 in earlier trading Monday.

There have been only two periods in the last two decades when the gauge has ended the day above 50: late 2008 and early 2009, during the trough of the global financial crisis; and early 2020, during the coronavirus-induced market selloff.

The VIX is closely watched during market turmoil. It tracks expectations for stock swings over the next 30 days, based on what investors will pay for options tied to the S&P 500 index.

When fear is rising, traders are typically more likely to turn to-and pay up for-options to protect their portfolios. That means the VIX tends to move inversely to the stock market, spiking when the market swoons.

Over the last 10 years, the VIX has averaged a little over 19. It hit a record intraday high of 89.53 in October 2008.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 07, 2025 05:15 ET (09:15 GMT)

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