Volatility Regime ReadAlso todaySee the US Macro Daily

VIX Daily

October 23, 2026
Covering the October 22, 2026 session

Volatility screens Very High as of 2026-10-22.

RegimeVery High
Term structureContango
Short-end stressNone
S&P 500
7,663.43
-93.74 (-1.21%)
VIX
19.03
+2.35 (+14.1%)
Risk-on / risk-off
0.06
-0.24 on the session
10th pctile, 1y · risk-on · 0 = neutral, higher = more risk-on

The Session

Session figures are in the table below.

Dashboard

MetricLatestSessionContext
S&P 5007,663.43-93.74-1.21% on the session
VIX19.03+2.35+14.09% on the session
Regime bandVery High—252d percentile 80%
VIX / VIX3M0.946—above 1 is backwardation
Risk-on / risk-off+0.06-0.2410th percentile, 1y
Expected move±0.95%+0.27to 2026-10-23, options-implied
25-delta skew, 1m5.51+1.60vol points, put over call
Same-day expiry share66.8%-0.3of session option volume
Volatility regime score52.8—Neutral · 0-100, higher is more stress

Levels & Expected Move

Expected move
±73 (0.95%)
to 2026-10-23, 1d · ATM IV 18.1%
Peak OI strikes
7,750 / 7,875
put / call, 2026-10-23 · call +75, put +430
Assumed dealer gamma
-107,419
indicative · no sign change within the near-dated book
Same-day expiries
66.8%
share of session volume · -0.3pp
Maturity25Δ skew (vol pts)ATM IV
1w 2026-10-29, 7d4.1215.91%
1m 2026-11-20, 29d5.5115.01%
3m 2027-01-15, 85d6.1215.23%

Derived from the S&P 500 option chain at the prior close. The expected move is implied-volatility derived, not read from a straddle price. The gamma figure assumes the dealer side of every contract and is indicative only — that side is not observable in public data.

Today's Focus

The volatility regime shifted from High to Very High.

This session produced the largest one-day S&P 500 drop in 60 sessions.

What Moved the Tape — October 22, 2026 session

Headlines are linked to their publishers; inclusion is not endorsement and reflects coverage during the session window only.

Scenarios

The VIX closed at 19.75 in the 15-20 band. Every figure below is the historical frequency for sessions that opened in that band — a record of what happened, not a forecast of what will.

Next session, the VIX…FrequencySample
stays in 15-2082.9%n=1,726
moves to 20-308.9%n=185
moves to <158.1%n=169
S&P 500 from hereMedianWorst 5%Sample
next session+0.06%-2.00%n=2,078
5 sessions+0.37%-4.29%n=2,074

Risk Window

US high-impact releases and major central-bank events, for the sessions ahead.

October 27, 2026
  • Durable Goods Orders Month-over-Month08:30 · United States
October 28, 2026
  • BoC Interest Rate Decision09:45 · Canada
  • BoC Press Conference10:30 · Canada
  • Fed Interest Rate Decision14:00 · United Statescons. 4.0
  • Fed Press Conference14:30 · United States
October 29, 2026
  • Core PCE Price Index Month-over-Month08:30 · United States
  • GDP Growth Quarter-over-Quarter Advance Estimate08:30 · United States
  • Personal Income Month-over-Month08:30 · United States
  • Personal Spending Month-over-Month08:30 · United States
  • +1 more

S&P 500 options: 2026-10-23, 2026-10-29, 2026-11-04 · VIX futures: 2026-11-18, 2026-12-16

Regime

Regime band Very High (252d percentile 80%); VIX level 19.75 (z-score +0.53 (252d)); Vol-of-everything composite 0.5552 z (breadth 100% above 1y median) [delayed].

MetricLatestAs of
Regime band252d percentile 80%Very High2026-10-23
VIX levelz-score +0.53 (252d)19.752026-10-23
Vol-of-everything compositedelayedbreadth 100% above 1y median0.5552 z2026-10-23

Term Structure

VIX / VIX3M 0.9458 (contango, streak 138d); Short-end stress 15.18 (VIX1D vs VIX 19.03; no short-end stress); Short-vol carry 0.05728 (positive short-vol carry).

MetricLatestAs of
VIX / VIX3Mcontango, streak 138d0.94582026-10-22
Short-end stressVIX1D vs VIX 19.03; no short-end stress15.182026-10-22
Short-vol carrypositive short-vol carry0.057282026-10-22

Vol-of-Vol & Tail

VVIX / VIX 5.672 (VVIX 107.9); SKEW 152.4 (Cboe SKEW index (tail-hedging demand)); VRP 9.301 (VIX minus 21d realized vol (vol points)).

MetricLatestAs of
VVIX / VIXVVIX 107.95.6722026-10-22
SKEWCboe SKEW index (tail-hedging demand)152.42026-10-22
VRPVIX minus 21d realized vol (vol points)9.3012026-10-22

Cross-Asset

HY OAS 3.27 pp (HYG/LQD 0.739) [delayed]; MOVE 106.8 (OVX 55.6, GVZ 24.1); Risk-on/off score 1.678 z (risk-on — equal-weight blend of five cross-asset ratios — small vs large caps, cyclicals vs defensives, high-yield vs investment-grade credit, copper vs gold, and stocks vs bonds — each standardised over a rolling year. Scale is standard deviations from neutral: 0 is neutral, positive is risk-on, negative is risk-off).

MetricLatestAs of
HY OASdelayedHYG/LQD 0.7393.27 pp2026-10-21
MOVEOVX 55.6, GVZ 24.1106.82026-10-22
Risk-on/off scorerisk-on — equal-weight blend of five cross-asset ratios — small vs large caps, cyclicals vs defensives, high-yield vs investment-grade credit, copper vs gold, and stocks vs bonds — each standardised over a rolling year. Scale is standard deviations from neutral: 0 is neutral, positive is risk-on, negative is risk-off1.678 z2026-10-23

Cross-Country

VIX − VSTOXX (US–Europe fear gap) 4.552 (Nikkei-VI/VIX 1.94; India-VIX/VIX 0.85; RVX/VIX 1.30) [proxy].

MetricLatestAs of
VIX − VSTOXX (US–Europe fear gap)proxyNikkei-VI/VIX 1.94; India-VIX/VIX 0.85; RVX/VIX 1.304.5522026-10-22

Positioning

VIX futures COT (net non-commercial z) -1.089 z (percentile 14%; VXX 18.48; VIX put/call 0.31; Fear & Greed 20); Days since last spike 146 days (VIX 19.75 vs 50d MA 15.94 / 200d MA 18.21; 21d realized vol 9.7 vs VIX 19.8).

MetricLatestAs of
VIX futures COT (net non-commercial z)percentile 14%; VXX 18.48; VIX put/call 0.31; Fear & Greed 20-1.089 z2026-10-13
Days since last spikeVIX 19.75 vs 50d MA 15.94 / 200d MA 18.21; 21d realized vol 9.7 vs VIX 19.8146 days2026-10-23

Volatility Regime Score

Composite
52.8
Neutral · 6 components

0-100, the mean of each component's own one-year percentile, oriented so higher is more volatility stress. Each component is ranked against its own past year, so a reading can be calm in absolute terms and still sit high against its own recent range.

ComponentValueOwn 1y %ileStress %ile
VIX / VIX3Mabove 1 is backwardation — near-term fear bid over longer-dated0.958686
Variance risk premiumimplied minus realized — a wide premium is the calm state9.309010(inverted)
VVIX / VIXthe price of convexity — rising means hedging the hedge5.676363
Risk-on / risk-offcross-asset appetite — positive is risk-on1.681000(inverted)
Cross-asset vol breadthhow broadly volatility is elevated across asset classes0.566666
25-delta skew (1m)what downside protection costs over upside, in vol points5.519191
What to watch

Further readings follow in the table below.

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