The Second Hottest Year For VIX in a Decade

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has been soaring lately, amid troubling geopolitical developments in Syria and North Korea. Yesterday, we looked at what the VIX spike could mean for stocks going forward. Today, our attention is drawn to an interesting historical development on the stock market's "fear gauge."

Specifically, the VIX is up 3.5% today at 15.59, bringing its 2017 lead to 11.4%. According to Schaeffer's Quantitative Analyst Chris Prybal, this is the second largest percentage gain for this point in the year, when surveying data from the past decade. The only year in which the VIX was up more year-to-date than it is so far in 2017 was 2014, with most other years actually sporting negative returns. As Prybal notes, "Over the past 10 years, volatility has tended to spike later in the year, as opposed to the first half -- apart from 2010."