The Cboe Volatility Index spiked on Thursday, jumping more than 20% to hit a two-week high as stocks sold off in the wake of an announcement that President Donald Trump would be instituting trade tariffs on steel and aluminum. The VIX jumped 25% to 24.76, its highest level since Feb. 14 and its biggest one-day percentage jump since Feb. 5. With the day’s move, the VIX has jumped back above the closely watched level of 20, which is considered its long-term average. Thursday is poised to be the third straight positive session for the VIX; it has jumped more than 55% over that period. The VIX moved higher as selling accelerated in Wall Street stocks; major indexes tumbled more than 1% after Trump’s comments about tariffs raised the specter of protectionist trade policies, something that has been cited as a key risk for investors. After trading at atypically low levels throughout 2017, the VIX has seen numerous spikes thus far in 2018; thus far this year it has climbed about 130%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2% on Thursday while the S&P 500 was down 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.7%.
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