As of 11:15 a.m., the market is tumbling and the VIX “Fear Index” is up 15.79% to 22.22. My January 26 VIX Call Options with a strike at 20 (VIXW220126C00020000) have soared 61.11% to sell at $290 a contract. With the expiration date of January 26 approaching I’m selling this position today.
Today, the People’s Bank of China cut its key interest rate for the first time in almost two years to help support China’s economy. The People’s Bank of China lowered the rate at which it provides one-year loans to banks by 10 basis points. Not a huge move–100 basis points equals one percentage point–but earlier than many economists–and I–had anticipated.
The CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) hasn’t moved much so far in today’s session. The so-called “fear index” is down just 0.23% to 17.26 as of 3:20 p.m. New York time. But there’s been strong action in the options market with risk hedges for the end of January and the middle of February showing losses. I’m going to use today’s selling to buy two VIX Call positions in the Volatility Portfolio.
At the close today, the VIX–the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index–had gained 2.24% to 17.33. During the day it had dropped as much a 1.53% to 16.69. That’s a level that I find interesting, again, as a play on potential volatility in January.
With the VIX “fear index” falling back closer to “normal” levels–it dropped to 21.89 yesterday from 31.12 on December 1–it sure feels like the extreme volatility of the end of November and early December is on the ebb. The move to yesterday’s 21.89 close from December 1 was was a surge of 30% in the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index in a week. This move away from panic follows on a jump in the “fear index” in the week from November 24 to December 1 of 67% in the opposite direction. I’d be surprised if we don’t see another surge in volatility in the rest of December or in January with what promises to be a crazy earnings season, but even if volatility holds at something like today’s level–slightly elevated from the historical averages but in the rough ballpark–don’t forget that volatility has a long tail. Volatility, in fact, creates volatility. And not least of all in individual stocks.
But 2021 has been very, very good to the iPath B Bloomberg Coffee Total Return ETN (JO). A series of disruptions–weather in Brazil and Colombia, a shortage of shipping containers that curbed exports from Vietnam, a civil war in Ethiopia–sent coffee prices to a 10-year high on November 30. Despite the global Pandemic depressing demand from consumers who didn’t venture out of coffee shops during the worst of the virus outbreak. Now after a 73% gain for 2021 to date the question for investors after the is how much higher can coffee prices and this coffee ETF go?
The trend for the next year or two looks positive.
On the theory that after Friday’s panic, we will get at least a modest recovery on Monday, I’m selling the three VIX Options in my Volatility Portfolio as soon as the market opens on Monday. The CBEO S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 54% on Friday to close to 28.62. My opinion is that we’ll see the “fear index” give back some of that jump on Monday if the market stabilizes. (If you think the market will plunge further, you should, obviously, hold onto your VIX Call options.
On what looks like solid odds for interest rate increases in 2022, I’m selling my remaining Treasury ETFs out of my portfolios.
Our regular (or occasional or perhaps occasionally regular) Friday series (actually running on Saturday this week) Trick or Trend looks at what might (or might not) be emerging investible trends. Exclusively on JAM. This post won’t run anywhere else. Ever. There might be a trend here but with the recent performance of the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) it’s really hard to tell.
Shares of Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) closed 19.15% higher today, November 4, on good news from multiple clinical trials at the gene therapy company.
Investors and traders are showing no interest in paying to hedge risk in this market–even though we’re again near the all-time high for the Standard & Poor’s 500. Today, as of 3 p.m. New York time the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) has dropped another 3.31% to 15.77. That puts the index back in my buying range and today I’m adding the December 22 VIX Call Option with a strike price of $18 (VIX211222C00018000) to my Volatility Portfolio.
