Options Trading News

The CBOE Volatility Index inched higher yesterday as the major equity indexes all finished slightly lower.

The S&P 500 slipped 1.37 points to close at 1470.68, a level that continues to be resistance. The SPX fell to session lows in the first hour and climbed back. Support remains at 1420.

The Nasdaq 100 ended the day at 2735.70, down 12.56 points, or almost 0.5 percent. The index, which was weighed down primarily by a steep loss in Apple shares, fell below 2725 in the morning but gained back a bit of that ground. Support and resistance remain at 2670 and 2785 respectively.

The Russell 2000 Index was down just 0.67 points to 880.10. It too remains right up at resistance, while support is 853.

The VIX was up 0.16 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 13.52. But the VIX futures were lower, with the January contracts off 0.05 points to 14.10 and the February futures down 0.10 points to  15.90.

Just shy of 468,000 VIX options traded, with calls outpacing puts by more than 2 to 1. The VVIX Index, which measures the implied volatility of the VIX options, was down fractionally at 78.28.