Wall Street's 'fear index' has biggest one-day jump since May

The Cboe Volatility Index spiked on Tuesday, and was on track for its biggest one-day percentage jump of the month as the latest bout of trade tensions rattled Wall Street and sent stocks sharply lower. The VIX popped 15% to 14.13, a level that is still considerably below its long-term average between 19 and 20. Tuesday is on track to be the VIX's biggest one day move since May 29. With the day's move, the so-called "fear index," which uses S&P 500 options to calculate expectations for volatility over the coming 30 days, is now up 28% thus far this year. However, it has recently been trending lower, and it remains down 25% over the past three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6% to 24,589. The S&P 500 fell 1% to 2,746 while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.2% to 7,656. The losses came after President Donald Trump threatened to slap up to $400 billion more in tariffs on China goods, the latest escalation in a trade dispute that has been unsettling investors for months.