Uncertainty Pushes Volatility Index Up 30%
NEW YORK--The stock market's "fear gauge" jumped a whopping 30%, reflecting a high level of uncertainty among investors as stocks took a dive.</br></br>After closing on Wednesday at 35.32, the Chicago Board Options Exchange's volatility index ripped to an intraday high of 46.37 before closing just below that point. Finishing at 45.79, the VIX gained 29.6% on the day and has nearly tripled in the last month alone.</br></br>It was the index's highest close since March 2009, the month that stocks fell to multiyear lows.</br></br>Thursday's move in the VIX coincided with a steep drop in stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 3.6%. Weighing on the market were continuing concerns about Europe's debt problems, unemployment in the U.S. and structural problems in the stock market.</br></br>"It's easy for investors to talk themselves into buying protection in times like this," said Todd Salamone, senior vice president of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research.