volatility index: India VIX jumps 40%, registers highest single-day gain in 9 years

Fear index India VIX witnessed its highest single-day gain in 9 years, jumping nearly 40% on intraday basis to the day’s high of 28.62. The gains were seen after counting trends showed a strong fight back by the India Alliance though BJP-led NDA still managed to cross the majority mark.

India VIX had settled at 20.94 on Monday after the exit polls gave a thumping majority to the NDA government.

As the counting is ongoing, these are early trends and do not reflect the final outcome.

As investors chose to adopt a risk-averse stance ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha election results later in the day, Sensex traded 4,100 points lower on Tuesday, dragged by heavyweights Reliance Industries, and financial stocks.

Meanwhile, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE declined by Rs 17.61 lakh crore to Rs 408.3 lakh crore.From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank alone contributed to a 1300-point decline in the index, while L&T, SBI, Axis Bank, NTPC, and Power Grid were other stocks dragging the index downwards.India VIX appears to be within striking distance of 30 and may hit the mark in run-up to D-day, Aamar Deo Singh, Senior Vice President-Equity, Commodity & Currency at Angel One had recently told ETMarkets. The sentiments were echoed by two more experts Anand Rathi’s Feroze Azeez Centrum Broking’s Nilesh Jain.

Jain expects India VIX to be in the range of 28-30 though it could go back to levels between 10 and 16 once the dust around the outcome settles down. This is the ideal range in which VIX should move in normal times, Jain opined.

Is this the worst?

Jain’s advice to investors is to ride the volatility without being too adventurous. Even if this level is attained, this will not be the worst scenario as historically the highest ever level is 92.5 hit in November 2008 during the economic recession in the US, this analyst said. The next worst level was During Covid when India VIX plunged to 86.6.

Meanwhile, Deo of Angel One recommends investors to remain alert and invest light around this time.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)