Equity volatility falls after spike in March

Last month, the average daily equity volume was 12.5 billion shares, the highest since June 2022 and up from February's 11.4 billion. The Cboe Volatility index averaged 21.6, an increase from January and February's 20.2 and 20.1, respectively. This reverses a four-month trend when the VIX declined after averaging 30 in October.

An elevated VIX has corresponded with a weaker equity market. March's average S&P 500 price was 3,968.56, down 2.7% from February.

The VIX spiked after the bank failures last month. On March 8, the index was 19.11, and it reached 26.52 on March 13. The VIX remained above 20 but started falling in the latter part of the month. On Wednesday, the VIX closed at 19.08.