Wall Street’s Fear Gauge Is Acting Up. It May Signal Trouble

  • VIX behaving in a way that’s preceded stock losses in the past
  • Technical indicator shows the gauge is likely to keep rising
Photographer: John Taggart/Bloomberg
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At this point, most investors probably just want the year to be over to book their gains -- especially now that the Cboe Volatility Index is behaving in a way that’s preceded stock losses in the past.

The VIX, also known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” jumped 16% on Monday and was up another 2.3% to 16.23 as of 8:15 a.m. Tuesday in New York. The S&P 500 Index remained less than a percent away from its record high.