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VIX cools off after pushing higher at the open

  • The VIX cools after a rocky start where the price reached 35.2.
  • Overall the market is still retracing from the spike higher on 18th March.

The VIX has been relatively clam today after spiking at the start of the session. The CBOE volatility index also known as the "fear index" moved up to hit 35.17 moving above the 55 Exponential average on the chart as it looked like equities were about to dump. Prices have since settled and the S&P 500 trades 0.32% higher, Nasdaq outperforms at 0.83% and lastly, the Dow lags behind only 0.14% in the black.

The VIX contract has expired this morning but on Friday there is a quadruple witching event will be taking place.This is the date on which derivatives of stock index futures, stock index options, stock options, and single stock futures expire simultaneously. It can inspire some volatility so the VIX is often watched for signals around that time. 

For the rest of the session, it seems the waters have calmed but there could be some positioning ahead of the end of the financial quarter and the market closes need to be observed. 

VIX Chart

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Rajan Dhall, MSTA

Rajan Dhall is an experienced market analyst, who has been trading professionally since 2007 managing various funds producing exceptional returns.

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