The worsening fears over the Eurozone has shaken investor sentiment, fueling the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, and related volatility-linked exchange traded funds (ETFs).
The VIX Index surged 32% during intra-day trading on Wednesday. The Index was up 29.37% at last check.
Meanwhile, the VIX-related ETN, iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX), vaulted 15.74% at last check Wednesday.
U.S. stocks, led by the banking and materials sectors, were in a sell-off as investors weighed on the country’s exposure to European debt.
Italian bond yields rose to a record high of 7.502% since the euro currency was first introduced, breaking through the threshold that increases the risk of a potential default, reports Angela Moon fore Reuters.
“We just added another layer of uncertainty. The issue with Italy brings the region closer to a broader negative scenario and raises more concerns about a financial crisis,” Bob Pavlik, the chief market strategist at Banyan Partners, said in the Reuters report.