Line chart of the VIX daily close from January 2020 to November 5, 2026. It peaked at 82.69 on March 16, 2020 and closed at 28.18 on November 5, 2026.

The VIX closed at 28.18 on Thursday, still far below its March 2020 peak of 82.69.

That pandemic-era high remains more than 2.9 times Thursday's close.

Thursday's jump lifted the VIX from 16.61, with an intraday high of 28.36.

Even after one of its biggest percentage gains on record, the level sits well under the crisis peak.

See more in the Opening Bell charts hub.

Fear is back in the tape, just not at 2020 heights.

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Phil Rosen
Phil Rosen

Phil Rosen is co-founder and CEO of Opening Bell Media and chief market strategist for Silvia Inc. (NASDAQ: SVIA). He hosts Full Signal and writes Opening Bell Daily — the markets briefing read by over 200,000 investors and published on Bloomberg Terminals — and has also published two books and won a Fulbright award for his reporting. Contact him at [email protected].

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