Stock Volatility Jumps to Highest Since Covid Pandemic as Selloff Deepens

One measurement of banal marketplace volatility surged to its highest level since nan early days of nan Covid-19 pandemic connected Monday greeting arsenic stocks crossed nan globe continued to suffer large losses.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) jumped supra 60 connected Monday, nan highest nan "fear index" has been since March 2020. It is nan index's highest reference extracurricular of 2 chopped marketplace meltdowns: nan onset of Covid-19 and nan fallout from nan nonaccomplishment of Lehman Brothers successful September 2008.

Stocks overseas sold disconnected connected Monday, pinch British and German indexes each down astir 3% and nan Japanese Nikkei 225 tumbling much than 12%. U.S. banal futures pointed to steep losses connected Wall Street arsenic well, pinch nan Dow connected way to shed 3% astatine nan unfastened and nan Nasdaq 100 barreling toward a 5% decline.

Volatility has picked up successful caller weeks amid a reset of banal marketplace activity and increasing worry astir a slowing U.S. economy. Mega-cap tech stocks person sold disconnected respective times since a soft ostentation study successful mid-July sparked a rotation into nan small-cap stocks poised to use astir from liking complaint cuts.

And fearfulness was ratcheted up past week erstwhile respective reports pointed to a softening labour market, prompting immoderate to wonderment whether nan Federal Reserve has waited excessively agelong to commencement cutting rates.