After the initial jubilation, investors took a second look at the U.S. and China trade war ceasefire, dragging down markets and triggering a spike in CBOE Volatility Index and VIX-related exchange traded products.
On Tuesday, the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (NYSEArca: VXX) advanced 13.3%, ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (NYSEArca: VIXY) increased 13.4% and ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures (NYSEArca: UVXY), which provides the 1.5x or 150% daily performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index, climbed 20.4% while the CBOE Volatility Index, or so-called VIX, surged 30.4% to 21.4. Potential investors should keep in mind that VIX-related exchange traded products track VIX futures and not the spot price.
Investors initially rejoiced after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed over the weekend to ease trade tensions, fueling a rally in global markets on Monday. However, differing public announcements following the meeting raised concerns among some investors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“I don’t think anything changed over the weekend, and that means continued volatility in the marketplace,” Bret Chesney, a senior portfolio manager at Alpine Global Management, told the WSJ, adding that the truce hasn’t made next steps any clearer for investors.
Trump also said Tuesday morning that negotiations have started to reveal whether “a real deal with China is actually possible.” If talks falter, the president remarked he will remain a “tariff man.”