VIX Decreases to 3-Year Low as S&P 500 Moves Least Since 2007
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The benchmark index for U.S. stock options fell to a three-year low as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index moved in its narrowest range since April 2007 and rose for a fifth day to reach a two-year high.
The VIX, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index is known, fell 6.3 percent to 15.45 as of 4:15 p.m. in New York. That’s below the prior 2010 closing low of 15.58 on April 12, and the lowest closing level since July 2007. The index measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, which rose 0.3 percent and moved in a 0.35 percentage-point range between today’s intraday high and low, less than half the 0.83 average over the past four weeks.