The CBOE Volatility Index popped into the bell, closing near its high of the day as the S&P 500 suddenly dropped.
The VIX was up 0.90 points, or 5 percent, to 18.93. The SPX fell sharply in the final minutes of the session, finishing down nearly 6 points to 1379.32.
The August VIX futures were up 0.35 points to 19.85, oddly coming off its highs in the last minutes of trading and closing below the morning highs. The September futures rose 0.40 points to 21.65, their high of the day.
The VIX option volume was light at 164,000 contracts, with 114,000 calls. The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) saw 112,000 options change hands, led by 70,000 calls.
The VVIX Index, which measures the implied volatility of the VIX options, was up 1.5 percent to 96.11.
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