VIX at 24 Leaves U.S. Stocks With No Road Map for Fed Tightening
- No rate hike has started within one month of correction
- VIX averaged 16.9 when last three tighten cycles began
Is the S&P 500 Hinting at a Recession?
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Normally, in the stock market, calm prevails before the Federal Reserve moves on interest rates. That it’s nowhere to be found now is causing investors to question other assumptions about equities and the tightening cycle.
How different is the landscape now compared with past liftoffs? One example is the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of investor nervousness that rises as market stress spreads. Since 1990, the VIX has averaged 16.9 when U.S. policy makers started raising. Today it’s above 24.