The CBOE Volatility Index finished higher on Friday while the futures were mixed.
The VIX rose 1 percent to end the day at 21.76, up 0.22 points. It had peaked above 22 shortly before the close but slipped as time decay for the long weekend was taken out of the S&P 500 options, on which the volatility index is based. (See our Education section)
The June VIX futures were up 0.30 points, or 1.24 percent, while the July futures rose 0.05 points to 26.05. The August futures were unchanged, but further-dated futures were lower.
The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Fund (VXX) was down 1.5 percent on the day, despite the gains in those futures of which it is composed. The VXX options traded 162,000 times, with slightly more calls than puts.
Overall option volume was quite light on Friday, while the VIX saw more than 387,000 contracts trade, led by 240,000 puts.
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