Market Volatility Index also referred as the fear index – Symbol is VIX

This index is a popular measure of the implied volatility of S&P 500 index options. The goal is to estimate the implied volatility of the S&P 500 index over the next 30 days.

The higher the value the more risk or fear in the market. Although the VIX is often called the “fear index”, a high VIX is not necessarily bearish for stocks. Instead, the VIX is a measure of fear of volatility in either direction, including to the upside.

The average of the VIX is 19.04, in October of 2008 it hit a high of 89.53 currently as of this post the VIX is at 25.89.

What is volatility? – Volatility is the rate at which the price of a certain [security] moves. A security with high volatility has bigger fluctuations in price compared to a security with low volatility. The more quickly a price changes up and down, the more volatile it is. As such, volatility is often used as a measure of risk.

I’ve added to my home page at DFI Wealth Management the VIX index along with four of the other major indexes which I update weekly showing the previous week’s close and current weekly trend.

Dan