VIX shows volatility will not be stopping anytime soon

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Surprise, surprise. Wall Street’s favorite fear index is spiking.

The Cboe Volatility Index was hovering around 48 Monday afternoon after spiking to 60 overnight. The index measures projected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days.

The VIX’s 30-day moving average has been on the rise in recent weeks, coming in at 21.4 at the beginning of the month vs. its long-running average of 19.5.

We’re now almost four standard deviations above the long-term average, marking a level of volatility most recently seen in 2020 and 2008.

You’re going to see a lot of comparisons to 2020 and 2008 in the coming weeks. While the sizes of the selloffs may be similar, I’d argue the sentiment could not be more different.