Sudden Stress: VIX Explodes as Market Tanks

Stressy VIX

Gradually, then suddenly. On Tuesday, in our post "Green Shoots of Fear", we pointed out that some of the "indicators" we watch were showing a pick up in fear. Fast forward to today and things are looking much more stressy suddenly. The VIX exploded higher, trading at levels last seen in mid Feb. Last time VIX was here, SPX traded some 200 points lower (and no you don't compare trending to mean reverting assets, but still). Chart shows SPX vs VIX inv.