I took a glance at a long term VIX chart this morning and realized that it had only dropped below its 11 mark once since January of 2018, and then didn’t remain there for more than a day. Admittedly the past 18 months have been turbulent for equities, which is evidenced by the fact that the SPX is currently trading merely 100 handles above the high painted on January 27th, 2018.
With summer solstice only days away market participants are now starting to shift their focus from trading toward a well deserved time off from the trials and tribulations of the financial markets. A drop in activity of course leaves plenty of opportunity for bot driven shenanigans, especially during a week filled to the brim with volatility inducing market events. In short: caveat emptor.
When it comes to indicators I definitely have come round circle during my evolution as a trader. Like most of us I started out like a kid in the candy store, especially during the early ThinkOrSwim years, which opened the flood gates on the availability of advanced tools for lowly retail traders.
If you’ve ever flown Ryan Air over here in Europe then you may know the long term damage even a short term flight can inflict on your body. And believe me, the six nights we spent sleeping on a creaky old mattress (note to myself: do not ever trust booking.com reviews again) had nothing on the two hours of legalized torture we were subjected to in order to be whisked across the Mediterranean for under €200.
