The VIX, the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index, climbed another 12.32% today, October 2, to 19.78.
The Call Options–with a strike at 17 and an expiration on December 20–I bought on the VIX on September 25 are up 38% as of the close on October 2. (I hold them in my Volatility Portfolio on my JAM.com subscription site.)
I’m inclined to hold them a bit longer because:
19.78 isn’t very high on th VIX and I’d say we could see 22 or 24 even absent a panic in the markets.
The jobs numbers look likely to continue to spook the markets for a while.
Treasury yields are soaring, which is not a positive for stocks.
With the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy just minutes ago (as I post), I think we’re going to see a lot of worrying chaos out of Congress. Remember our representatives kicked the shutdown can only 45 days down the road. Without a speaker, the House will do nothing. And as one Congressman said tonight right after the vote, “Now what?” Whatever that “what” will be, it’s going to eat up many of those 45 days.
On the other side, the recent peak in the VIX has been at 20 on May 4 and May 24 so I think it pays to keep a close eye on the price of these options from here
