In dusting off the record books, Larry McMillan, president of New Jersey-based options-research firm McMillan Analysis Corp. said the behavior of the VIX 13 years ago seems remarkably similar to what the indicator is doing today. ........
"As the Christmas holiday approached in 1993, the VIX plummeted and closed at 9.30 on Dec. 22." wrote McMillan in his report "The Option Strategist." On successive days, it then finished at 9.47, 9.69 and 9.82 -- and never closed below the 10 reading again, ever, until Thursday, this week, he said.
A similar pattern is currently emerging, bringing with it a period of stability which may actually prove to more extreme on the downside, he said.
He noted the VIX quickly climbed above 12 after the new year, 1994. After a brief retreat, the VIX held these levels: 15 in early February, 16.50 in March 1994, and 24 on a Federal Reserve rate hike on April 1, 1994.
"The stock market was generally moving lower over that time period, culminating with a spike downward to a low on April 1, 1994," McMillan wrote.
VIX futures are now trading at higher prices than they were two weeks ago, even though VIX is making new lows. "Obviously, we are not alone in expecting VIX to rise in the early part of 2007," he said.
"I think we are likely to see a return to normalcy in early 2007 with the VIX moving up off the lower end of its range," Ruffy said. "Some sort of catalyst would be necessary to cause a dramatic change in risk perceptions. It would be something totally unexpected and therefore impossible to predict."
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