Volatility moderately higher

Whilst the main equity indexes managed slight gains, the VIX also gained..if only a little, closing +2.7% @ 13.37. Near term trend is actually to the upside, although just breaking into the mid 14s is going to be real difficult.


VIX'daily3

Summary

From a cycle point of view, the VIX is indeed starting to battle higher. The daily bollinger bands are now getting real tight again.

Volatility remains remarkably low, but then, that can remain the case for more than a year, as in 1995 and 2005, both years where the VIX never got above 20.
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VIX opex is at the Wednesday open, so don't be surprised if VIX jumps 7-10% later tomorrow. That doesn't mean the indexes will be down 1% or more, but with the Bernanke talking to US congress....its something to keep in mind.

more later, on the indexes