Stocks slipped in the last two hours of yesterday's session, pushing the CBOE Volatility Index back into the green.
The S&P 500 climbed above 1408 twice during the session but closed lower by 7.35 points, just below 1399, apparently after comments by Democratic Sen. Harry Reid on "fiscal cliff" obstacles. The SPX is just above its 20-day moving average, while support and resistance remain at 1385 and 1410 respectively.
The Nasdaq 100 followed the same pattern, finishing the day down 10.25 points at 2641.42. Support remains at 2562 and resistance at 2700.
The Russell 2000 also fell late in the day but closed lower by only 1.28 points, finishing the day at 807.74. It has support at 790 and resistance at 826.
The VIX was up 0.42 points, or 2.71 percent, to finish at its session high of 15.92. It had dipped down to 15 around the middle of the day. The December VIX futures were up 0.50 points to 16.10, while its January futures gained 0.30 points to 17.75.
More than 550,000 VIX options traded, 358,000 of which were calls. The VVIX Index, which measures the implied volatility of those options, was up 2 percent but remains near its lows at 84.17.
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