This Tech "Fear Gauge" Is Nearing a Two-Decade High. Investors Should Worry
Wall Street's main 'fear gauge,' the VIX, might not be the best way to track this volatility in stocks. Wall Street's traditional "fear gauge," the VIX, may no longer be the best way to track volatility in stocks.Wall Street's traditional "fear gauge" might not be the best barometer for this selloff.A new wave of turbulence swept up U.S. stocks on Tuesday as options traders grew more skittish about the year's big winners of the rally: megacap tech and artificial intelligence stocks.Yet until Tuesday, signs of turbulence were fairly hard to spot by looking at the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX VIX, which has been trading below its long-term average of just under 20.Often referred to as Wall Street's "fear gauge," the VIX uses S&P 500 SPX options prices to gauge expected swings in the stock market over the next 30 days. The higher the VIX, the more anticipated the turbulence.In other words, investors are paying up for protection against swings in the Nasdaq-100 even as broad-market volati
