economy
Wall Street's 'fear gauge' punches back as the 'crash up' in chip stocks finally reverses
The monster rally in semiconductor stocks hit a wall on Friday, and the VIX at last caught up with other volatility metrics.
TL;DR
- The semiconductor stock rally, which added approximately half a trillion dollars in market cap to the Nasdaq 100, ended on Friday.
- The VanEck Semiconductor ETF dropped almost 10% at its low on Friday.
- The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) posted its biggest single-day increase since March.
- S&P 500 index options trading reached a record 7.8 million contracts on Friday.
- Volatility metrics, such as the spread between single-stock volatility and the broader index, reached extremes.
- The bond market also saw significant activity, with traders making bearish bets on Treasury and corporate bond ETFs.
- Bitcoin briefly dropped below $60,000, and Michael Saylor's Strategy saw a nearly 7% decline.
- The day marked the worst for the Nasdaq since April 2025.