(Bloomberg) — The sense of calm in the US stock market was disrupted Tuesday as the S&P 500 Index plunged more than 2% and the VIX exploded higher. That’s rewarded a late-Friday options buyer with some $12 million in paper gains.
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The spike in volatility came as the S&P 500 index was dragged down by a selloff in technology stocks with AI giant Nvidia Corp.’s market capitalization dropping by the equivalent of Chevron Corp.
Late Friday, an investor or investors spent almost $9 million buying 350,000 call spreads on the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, to protect against a September jump in the gauge, which measures volatility on S&P 500 options.
At the time, those spreads — buying the 22 call, selling the 30 call expiring Sept. 18 — cost 25 cents each. On Tuesday, with the VIX jumping from less than 16 to almost 22 before the close, almost as many spreads traded, this time with many of them going for around 60 cents.
It appears that Friday’s buyer turned around and sold the position, according to market participants, though it’s hard to know for sure. In any case, the potential profit comes to about $12.25 million.
–With assistance from Alyce Andres.
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