Volatility Index Acting Weird as Stocks Just Continue Higher
A new week begins and to no one’s surprise, stocks are set to open sharply higher. Even during the Dotcom bubble, stocks took a breather every now and then. In fact, they became very volatile during their melt up phase. That’s an element that has been lacking during this leg of the bull market.It’s not a great chart, but take a look at the volatility index below, also known as the VIX.
Essentially, since the year began, this index has gone up along with stocks, That is very unusual behavior as historically, stocks and the VIX move inversely, meaning they move in opposite directions. Behavior like this would typically lead to a pullback in stocks, but as we have seen time and time again, this is anything but a normal market environment. It’s something to keep an eye on.
I hate to use the word “feel” because as my golf coach would always lecture, “feel is not real”, but I do get the feeling that one of these sharply higher openings is going to be met with a nasty reversal to the downside. It may only last a day or even a week, but it should look a bit ugly. In this case, the VIX should likely spike higher than normal. Again, we’ll see.
Stocks continue to do nothing wrong to derail the bull market. The major indices are all in gear to the upside. Sector leadership is very strong. High yield bonds are participating. The NYSE A/D Line is making new highs. Nothing suggests an imminent end to the bull market, no matter how uncomfortable price action makes you.
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