Never Mind the VIX, Anxiety Is Everywhere in U.S. Stock Market
- Investors seeking safety in options market, defensive shares
- Low correlation means pockets of losses don’t spread
Pedestrians walk along Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Nasdaq 100 is at a record, stocks have just strung together two straight weeks of gains and one of the best earnings seasons in a decade is at hand. Bears vanquished? Not entirely.
While benchmark measures of volatility are as calm as they’ve been in five months, among individual stocks anxiety is running high. It’s showing up in indicators that plot bearish and bullish options, in a lingering preference for defensive industries and the refusal of hedge funds to commit new money.