One measure of fear on Wall Street posted its third lowest finish ever, according to FactSet data. The CBOE Volatility Index closed down 3.9% at 9.51, which marks the lowest level for the so-called fear gauge since 1993. The indicator, also known as VIX, has only closed lower on two other occasions both in December 1993 at 9.48 and 9.31. The VIX is based on options contracts on the S&P 500 index 30 days in the future. The metric’s historical average is 20 and it has continued to mostly slump as stocks have reached repeated records since President Donald Trump’s Election Day victory in November, which suggests to market participants that investors are becoming too complacent. Friday’s VIX slide came as many major equity benchmarks logged fresh records, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average , the S&P 500, Dow Jones Transportation Average , the small-cap focused Russell 1000 Index and the Russell 2000 Index . The Nasdaq Composite Index , meanwhile, posted its second-highest finish ever, just about 0.1% shy of its all-time closing high.
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