Fear Gauge (VIX)
Fear Gauge (VIX) is a data page on the Briefing desk of Glassbox Auditing. The VIX, the size of S&P 500 move options traders are paying to protect against over the next 30 days, read against every trading day since 1990, with Cboe's other fear gauges and every spike since 1987. A high VIX makes protection costly and tends to come with falling stocks and tighter financing for companies.
Last updated: .
What is on this page today?
- VIX 25.64 (nervous band, 25-30), -2.54 on the day — Stress: the VIX is 25.6, in the nervous band (25-30) and higher than 87% of the past 10 years; the curve is inverted (VIX ÷ VIX3M 1.04); the VIX jumped 32% in 5 sessions. Options price a ±7.4% S&P 500 move over the next… (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- Fear curve (VIX ÷ VIX3M) 1.04: inverted — Near-term fear is above 3-month fear: traders are paying most for protection right now. This happens in selloffs; it is the curve's stress signal. Inverted on 8% of days since 2009. (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- SKEW 153.55, higher than 87% of the past 5 years — How much extra traders pay for protection against a crash; +4.18 on the day. (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- The VIX closed at 25.64 on 6 Nov, in the nervous band (25-30), where it has closed on 9.3% of days since 1990 — After days in this band the S&P 500's median change 12 months later was +12.5%, higher 71% of the time; history, not a forecast; the bars are the five busiest bands' shares of days (Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Indices, 6 Nov 2026)
- The VIX is 5.8 points above the S&P 500's actual swings: 25.6 priced in, 19.8 realized over 21 sessions — The usual gap since 1990 is 4.4 points (the median); it was wider than today's on 32% of days, and fear was priced below actual swings on 12% (Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Indices, 6 Nov 2026)
- VIX1D 28.73, -8.07 on the day — The S&P 500 move priced for the next trading day. (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- VIX9D 27.18, -5.48 on the day — The move priced for the next 9 days. (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- VIX3M 24.60, -0.95 on the day — The move priced for the next 3 months. (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- VIX6M 24.70, -0.59 on the day — The move priced for the next 6 months. (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- VVIX 121.94, higher than 92% of the past 5 years — How much the VIX itself is expected to swing (fear of fear); -13.05 on the day. (Cboe, 6 Nov 2026)
- The VIX has closed at 30 or more in 29 spikes since 1987; the highest peaks were Black Monday crash (150.2) and COVID-19 crash (82.7) — The latest: Spike of Mar 2026, peak close 31.1 on 27 Mar; the bars are the five highest peaks. Before 1990 the old VXO gauge stands in (Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Indices, 6 Nov 2026)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from Cboe; Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Indices. Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- SPY History (Markets): The VIX tends to rise when SPY falls and settle when it climbs; on most days the two move in opposite directions. (moves the other way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- SPY (Options): The VIX is computed from S&P 500 option prices, so a higher VIX means SPY options cost more to hold for protection or for a bet on a move. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Every Ticker (Options): Single-stock option prices tend to rise with the VIX, since a market-wide drop pulls most stocks down together. (moves the same way; same day; company scale) Source: Robinhood options market data (OPRA).
- Dealer Gamma (Options): When dealers are short gamma their hedging adds to moves and the VIX tends to run higher; when they are long gamma their hedging tends to damp moves. (either way, depending on the cause; same day; economy scale) Source: Dealer gamma computed by the terminal (Black-Scholes greeks from closing mids; dealers assumed long calls and short puts).
- Finance (Global Intelligence): When the VIX spikes, investors tend to pull money from riskier markets abroad at the same time, so world stock markets usually fall together and the dollar tends to firm. (moves the other way; same day; global scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Risk Monitor (Briefing): The VIX and its curve are Stocks readings on the Risk Monitor (20+ watch, 30+ stressed), so a spike raises that area's level. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
What feeds this page?
- Risk Monitor (Briefing): Stress spreading across the board's areas tends to come with a higher VIX, as investors pay more for protection against falling stocks; the VIX is also one of the board's Stocks readings. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Upcoming (Calendar): Option prices carry extra premium ahead of FOMC decisions and CPI, so the short-dated VIX9D and VIX1D tend to climb into these dates and drop once the news is out. (moves the same way; days before each event; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Report Reactions (Calendar): Outsized reactions to reports raise how much the market actually swings, and the VIX tends to stay higher after a run of hard report-day moves. (moves the same way; days to weeks; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Social Media (Feed): Posts announcing or pausing tariffs moved the S&P 500 and the VIX the same day in 2025; on 9 April a Truth Social post pausing most tariffs came with one of the index's largest one-day gains. (either way, depending on the cause; same day; economy scale) Source: CNN archive of Donald Trump's Truth Social posts.
- News (Feed): Unexpected headlines on policy, conflict or a large company tend to lift the VIX the same day as traders pay up for protection; expected news moves it little. (either way, depending on the cause; same day; economy scale) Source: Top-strip news outlets (Google News, CNBC, WSJ, MarketWatch, NYT, BBC, Fox Business, Seeking Alpha feeds).
- World Map (Global Intelligence): A sudden war, attack or major earthquake tends to lift the market's expected volatility for days while its economic reach is unclear. (moves the same way; same day; global scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Finance (Global Intelligence): The OFR Financial Stress Index is built partly from stock volatility and credit spreads, so it tends to rise with the VIX when markets are under strain. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Health (Global Intelligence): Outbreak news that threatens travel and trade tends to lift expected stock volatility, as in February and March 2020; most outbreak reports stay local and move nothing. (moves the same way; days; global scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Oil Stress (Macro): Oil volatility (OVX), part of the score, often rises alongside the VIX in supply shocks, as investors price the hit to growth and profits. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: FRED, CBOE Crude Oil Volatility Index (OVXCLS).
- Live Now (Markets): The VIX is priced from S&P 500 index options, so a falling SPY tends to come with a rising VIX the same day as traders pay more for protection. (moves the other way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- SPY History (Markets): When SPY's daily moves grow larger than usual, the VIX tends to rise with them, since index options are priced off the swings traders have just seen and expect next. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Options (Markets): Demand for S&P 500 puts as portfolio protection raises their implied volatility, and the VIX is computed from those option prices, so heavier index hedging tends to lift it. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Market Behavior (Markets): Order books thin out when volatility is high, so short bursts against a thinning book, one of the patterns here, tend to be more common on days the VIX is elevated. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Today's Spikes (Options): When spikes spread across many companies at once they tend to fall on market-wide days, the same days index option prices and the VIX move most. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- SPY (Options): SPY and S&P 500 index puts are the main hedge for stock portfolios; when more put protection is opened, the implied volatility the VIX measures tends to rise. Put-heavy positioning is mostly hedging, not proof of a fall. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Big Tech Map (Options): The VIX depends on how much the largest S&P 500 names are expected to move and how closely together (Cboe's implied correlation index); a group-wide rise in Big Tech option prices tends to lift it. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe S&P 500 3-Month Implied Correlation Index (COR3M).
- Dealer Gamma (Options): In the usual dealer-gamma reading, positive gamma on SPY means hedging leans against moves, so daily swings and the VIX tend to be lower, and negative gamma the reverse; this page tests that claim against its record. (moves the other way; same day; economy scale) Source: Dealer gamma computed by the terminal (Black-Scholes greeks from closing mids; dealers assumed long calls and short puts).
- Dealer Gamma: Detail (Options): Implied volatility above realized means options are priced for bigger moves than recent ones, the same gap the VIX page shows for the S&P 500 against its actual swings. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Leaders & Policy (World Powers): Spikes in economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risk tend to coincide with higher option-implied volatility on the S&P 500. (moves the same way; days to weeks; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- Elections & Polls (World Powers): Option-implied volatility tends to rise into close or contested elections in large economies and fall once the result is known. (moves the same way; weeks; economy scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).
- World Log (World Powers): Surprise events in the log (a snap election, an unscheduled rate move, a sudden change of leader) tend to show in option-implied volatility the same day. (either way, depending on the cause; same day; global scale) Source: Cboe VIX index data (daily history and delayed quotes).