1) VXX tracks the daily percentage change of a one-month VIX futures contract that is calculated using the first-month and second-month VIX futures contracts. 2) If the first-month and second-month VIX futures decrease, VXX will lose value.

Besides, How do VXX options settle?

They cash settle on expiration day and officially leave your sheets forever. VXX options deliver (or get delivery of) VXX stock. The same goes for VXZ. You can also exercise them early (and get assigned), whereas VIX options are European exercise.

Keeping this in mind, What is the VIX index based on? The Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) creates and tracks an index know as the Volatility Index (VIX), which is based on the implied volatility of S&P 500 Index options.

How is stock market volatility calculated?


How to Calculate Volatility

  1. Find the mean of the data set. …
  2. Calculate the difference between each data value and the mean. …
  3. Square the deviations. …
  4. Add the squared deviations together. …
  5. Divide the sum of the squared deviations (82.5) by the number of data values.

How is VIX calculated for stocks?

The sum of all previous calculations is then multiplied by the result of the number of minutes in a 365-day year (525,600) divided by the number of minutes in 30 days (43,200). The square root of that number multiplied by 100 equals the VIX.

What time do VXX options expire?

VIX options (options on CBOE Volatility Index) expire on the Wednesday that is 30 days before the third Friday of the following calendar month. If there are public holidays, the expiration is on the business day before.

Does VXX decay?

VXX has decayed at an average rate of 8% per month year-to-date, on the high side of its average monthly decay rate of 6-8% over the past 5 years.

Can VXX go negative?

This ETN holds a long position in first- and second-month VIX futures contracts that roll daily. 3 Because there is an insurance premium in longer-dated contracts, the VXX experiences a negative roll yield (basically, that means long-term holders will see a penalty to returns).

How does the VIX index work?

The VIX measures the implied volatility of the S&P 500 (SPX), based on the price of SPX options. … When the VIX is up, it means that there are significant and rapid price fluctuations on the S&P 500. The VIX typically has a negative correlation with the S&P 500, so in periods of market stress, the VIX increases.

What does VIX predict?

The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, is a real-time market index representing the market’s expectations for volatility over the coming 30 days. Investors use the VIX to measure the level of risk, fear, or stress in the market when making investment decisions.

What is the correlation between VIX and S&P 500?

S&P 500 VIX correlation

Dating back the beginning of the VIX in 1990, the correlation between daily changes in the S&P 500 and VIX is -77%. Over the past 10 years the inverse correlation has become even stronger at -81%, while prior to October 2008 it was -74%.

How is volatility of volatility calculated?


To calculate the volatility of the prices, we need to:

  1. Find the average price: $10 + $12 + $9 + $14 / 4 = $11.25.
  2. Calculate the difference between each price and the average price: …
  3. Square the difference from the previous step: …
  4. Sum the squared differences: …
  5. Find the variance: …
  6. Find the standard deviation:

What is stock market volatility?

Volatility is the rate at which the price of a stock increases or decreases over a particular period. Higher stock price volatility often means higher risk and helps an investor to estimate the fluctuations that may happen in the future.

What is a good volatility percentage?

Defining market volatility comes with a surprisingly low bar: any time the market moves up and down by one percentage point or more over a sustained period, it’s technically considered a volatile market. That said, the implied volatility for the average stock is around 15%.

What does a VIX of 20 mean?

In absolute terms, VIX values greater than 30 are generally linked to large volatility resulting from increased uncertainty, risk, and investors’ fear. VIX values below 20 generally correspond to stable, stress-free periods in the markets.

What is a good VIX number?

Generally speaking, if the VIX index is at 12 or lower, the market is considered to be in a period of low volatility. On the other hand, abnormally high volatility is often seen as anything that is above 20. When you see the VIX above 30, that’s sometimes viewed as an indication that markets are very unsettled.

How often is VIX calculated?

Once each week, the SPX options used to calculate the VIX Index “roll” to new contract maturities. For example, on the second Tuesday in October, the VIX Index would be calculated using SPX options expiring 24 days later (i.e., “near- term”) and 31 days later (i.e., “next-term”).

What time of day do options expire?

According to NASDAQ, options technically expire at 11:59 AM Eastern Standard time on the date of expiration, which is a Saturday, oddly enough. Public holders of options contracts, however, must indicate their desire to trade no later than 5:30 PM on the business day preceding the option expiration date.

What time does a call option expire?

Technically, the expiration time is currently 11:59 a.m. [Eastern Time] on the expiration date, but public holders of option contracts must indicate their desire to exercise no later than 5:30 p.m. [Eastern Time] on the business day preceding the expiration date.”

Do options expire at 4pm?

Keep in mind that most stock options stop trading at 4:00 pm ET when the regular stock market session closes, but many stocks continue to trade after hours until 8:00 pm ET, even on expiration Friday, which may affect the intrinsic value and possibly the decision of a call or put option buyer to exercise an option, as …

How does VIX decay?

Because the typical state of the curve is upsloping (in contango), VIX ETFs see their positions decay over time. Decay in their exposure leaves them with less money to roll into the next futures contract when the current one expires.

Does VXX have contango?

All about VXX. One of the most frequent times that contango appears in the financial press is when VXX is discussed. VXX is an ETN (Exchange Traded Note) created by Barclay’s which trades very much like any stock.

Can the VIX go to zero?

VIX options are powerful instruments that traders can add to their arsenals. They isolate volatility, trade in a range, have high volatility of their own, and cannot go to zero.