Now that the S&P 500 has broken all-time highs above 1,700, has the stock market's mood gotten too giddy?
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has climbed 21.04% year-to-date, and that impressive rise has caused people to totally change their mind about stocks.
On Jan. 2, 36% of investors polled described themselves as bears compared to just 18% on July 10, according to the AAII Sentiment Survey. Put another way, the percentage of individual investors that are "bearish" on the U.S. stock market has been cut in half since the beginning of the year. What a reversal!
What about market volatility?
The CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (^VIX) is one of the easiest ways to gauge the stock market's temper. It can tell us a lot. Over the past 12 years, the VIX has moved in the opposite direction as the S&P 500 around 80% of the time.
A depressed VIX can be interpreted as too much complacency or lack of fear in the stock market. Conversely, an elevated VIX infers a high level of anxiety or fear.
In a July 10 post, Michael Moran at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) wrote: "Since 1990 the average daily close for the VIX Index was 20.3, but in the first half of 2013: the VIX average daily close was 14.2, and the VIX closed above 20 on only two days – June 20th (at 20.49) and June 24th (at 20.11)."
Really, the last two years have been a period of muted stock market gyrations. Since late 2011, the VIX hasn't traded above 30.
