With most stocks falling yesterday, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, jumped 15.5% to close the day at 23.80. This was the index’s highest closing level in almost three weeks. This resulted in volatility-related ETFs seeing large jumps in performance. For instance, the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) rose 6.5% on the day, while the leveraged ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY) jumped 9.7%. The VIX had previously been on a downturn since the market bottomed in June, but with anxiety beginning to hit investors once again, volatility is returning. The jump in the VIX can be attributed to investors anticipating another round of interest hikes in September. Plus, last Thursday’s month-end options expirations likely contributed to a resurgence in volatility. 

Finsum: Month-end option expirations and concerns over additional rate hikes drove the VIX higher yesterday, resulting in strong returns for volatility ETFs.