The markets are volatile—and Wall Street’s most reliable barometer of panic has surged to levels not seen since April, when President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs triggered a global market meltdown.
The Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, peaked at 27.8 on Thursday and closed the day around 26.3—its highest point since the tariff crisis sent it soaring above 50 earlier this year. The previous high, apart from April’s tariff-induced spike, was struck around mid-October when the VIX reached 25.31.
