Friday, July 27, 2007

VIX Soaring in 4:00 - 4:15 Window

For those who may not be aware of it, the VIX trades from 9:30 to 4:15 ET, with that additional 15 minutes following the close of regular trading on the equity exchanges often providing some insight into the think of traders going into the next session.

Well, at 4:00 ET the VIX was trading at 22.97, but it has jumped to 24.17 – another 52 week high – in the quarter hour since the final bell at the NYSE. My guess is that many had been playing for a bump rather than a plunge in the last half hour and are rethinking and/or hedging their positions going into the weekend during this 15 minute 'last call' window.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

VIX jump after hour, is that a sign of more sell off to come, or just people hedge over the weekend?

Bill Luby said...

My guess is that this is more of a risk hedging strategy -- perhaps mandated by some internal risk control policies at various firms.

Unknown said...

very interesting, Bill.

Anonymous said...

can anyone explain the deep discount, in the past few days, on the VIX call options

Bill Luby said...

anon,

Someone asked a similar question under an old post yesterday, "Why were the august 10 vix calls closing at under 10 when the vix itself closed at 24. Wouldn't they be worth at least 14?"

Here is my reply:

The reason the VIX Aug 10 calls closed at 9.60 yesterday while the VIX closed at 24.17 is that VIX options are based on the expected price of the VIX at expiration, which is still 24 days out. A good way to get a better sense of this is to look at the futures; the August VIX futures settled at 20.07 yesterday.

I hope this helps. If you want more information, you might want to start with "VIX Futures: The One Picture to Remember".

Cheers,

-Bill

DISCLAIMER: "VIX®" is a trademark of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated. Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated is not affiliated with this website or this website's owner's or operators. CBOE assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness or any other aspect of any content posted on this website by its operator or any third party. All content on this site is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as advice to buy or sell any securities. Stocks are difficult to trade; options are even harder. When it comes to VIX derivatives, don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because you can ride a horse, you can ride an alligator. Please do your own homework and accept full responsibility for any investment decisions you make. No content on this site can be used for commercial purposes without the prior written permission of the author. Copyright © 2007-2023 Bill Luby. All rights reserved.
 
Web Analytics