VIX above 17 as equities fall again
Equity indexes were down again on Friday, pushing the CBOE Volatility Index above the 17 level.
The S&P 500 fell another 17.39 points, or 0.95 percent, to close at 1815.69. That was just above the session low and its worst close since Feb. 10. The next level of support is 1800, while resistance is 1880.
The Nasdaq 100 dropped 40.92 points, or 1.17 percent, to 3446.84. That too was just above the day's lows. The NDX has seen only one close lower than this since November, and the index has been trending lower since its highs in early March. Support is now at 3400, while resistance is at 3600.
The Russell 2000 lost 16.22 points, or 1.44 percent, to 1111.44. The small-cap index has support at 1080, which goes back to October, and resistance at 1160.
The VIX rose 1.14 points, or 7.17 percent, to 17.03. The volatility index was as high as 17.85 at the S&P 500's low. It should be noted that the VIX has relative weakness on Fridays as weekend time decay is priced into the SPX options. The nine-day CBOE Short-Term Volatility Index (:VXST) was also up 1.14 points, to 17.64.
The VIX futures followed higher. The April futures, which have only two days left to trade, finished at 17 even. The May futures closed at 16.65. That had the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (:VXX) up 3.02 percent to $44.75.
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