VIX finally shows signs of stabilization

Markets got a little pop today, but nothing extraordinary. We are finally seeing the VIX come off its highs. However, the VVIX isn’t coming off either. It’s quadruple witching (4 types of expirations), so that tends to create a lot of volatility.

We’re finally seeing a lot of divergences between stocks. Some are doing better than others, while there are a few that are lagging. There are a few oil stocks that are doing alright, but otherwise, nothing to write home about.

The one outlier is the bond market. TLT is up almost 5% on the day. That could mean that things are about to drop or it may just be a snapback.

One interesting thing I found…Chinese markets are doing much better than the U.S. At the moment, the FXI ETF is only down about 20% vs the SPY that’s down over 30%.

FXI Hourly Chart

I don’t expect Chinese exporters will do well in the long-run, but internal China companies like BIDU or JD might show relative strength. With no more cases popping up in the mainland, they’re sort of past the worst at the moment.

Regardless of this bounce, I still think we’re headed lower. There are great trades to be had as long as you keep them small and fast.