Tag Archives: VIX
VIX Back to Normal? Not Really
The U.S. equities market had a wild start in 2020. Following the March 2020 sell-off, the S&P 500® posted its largest monthly gain (12.8%) since 1987. Meanwhile, VIX® went from its long-term median to an all-time high within a month before it settled around 30. One thing that has been debated lately is whether VIX,…
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Exploring VIX® in Volatile Markets
How can VIX data help us understand the current market environment? S&P DJI’s Tim Edwards explores what recent historical highs for VIX could mean for equity and commodity markets moving forward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATWjE9s8ukQ Get the latest Risk & Volatility dashboard on Indexology: https://spdji.com/indexology/risk-management/risk-volatility-dashboard
- Categories Strategy
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Performance of Latin American Markets in Q1 2020
Recently, I read a comment that suggested we skip 2020 altogether. This new decade has not really started well—if only we could jump straight to 2021. Amid the overwhelming impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health and on the economy, perhaps what resonates best is that “this too will pass.” U.S. equities, which serve…
- Categories Equities
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Why the S&P 500® VIX® Short-Term Futures Index Rose More than VIX in March
Markets are down over 20%, COVID-19 is a global pandemic, negative global growth is looming—all of that just in the first 20 days of March! During same time period, VIX rose 65%, while the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index jumped 175%. With a long-term beta of 0.7 to spot, a question might be—why did…
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U.S. Corporate Debt Market under Pressure
Since mid-February, the market has turned sharply down in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500® has fallen about 32% from its peak this year. Equity volatility shot up, as VIX® went from historical lows to the 70-80 range, which was last seen in November 2008. The 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond yield reached 0.32%…
- Categories Fixed Income
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Equity Liquidity at a Reasonable Price
The fall in equity market values since February’s peak has been sudden and dramatic. During this period, the equity markets have functioned well at their primary task of facilitating price discovery at a time when values were changing rapidly. Equity investors who wanted to trade have been able to trade. (Whether they were wise to…
- Categories Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
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The Best Offense Is Defense – Why VEQTOR Outperformed Last Week
Six minutes after trading began on the New York Stock Exchange on March 9, 2020, the S&P 500® plummeted 7% and market-wide circuit breakers kicked in for the first time since the stock market crash of Oct. 27, 1997. However, the indices fell again later in the week and triggered another circuit breaker on Thursday,…
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The VIX Futures Curve Is in Backwardation
Backwardation is incredibly uncommon in the VIX® futures curve. While the reason behind this term structure is not perfectly understood, the conclusion is clear: long and hold does not work for VIX futures, as the roll cost burns. There are different ways to measure VIX futures backwardation: by using the relationship between the VIX level…
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Bye Bye Bull Market: Reaction to Coronavirus
The last few weeks have definitely felt like a “where were you when…?” moment as coronavirus fears spread around the world and many people’s day-to-day lives have been disrupted. Amid the anxiety and disruption, global financial markets nosedived, sending all major equity indices tumbling, VIX® soaring to levels not seen since the financial crisis, and…
- Categories Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
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Fixed Income in Stressful Times
For those wondering what role fixed income would have in their portfolio at record-low yields, they had to wait just one week. On Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, we hit a record-low yield for the 30-year Treasury, as the S&P U.S. Treasury Bond Current 30-Year Index yield fell to 1.92%. The next week, the Dow Jones…
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