VIX bounces 25% as fiscal cliff approaches

As the clock ticks down to the Jan. 1 fiscal cliff deadline the VIX reached 19.47 through midday Wednesday. The last time the index closed above that level was July 24, at 20.47. The index, which measures investor sentiment and implied volatility of S&P 500 stocks, has risen more than 25% in the past five trading days since it closed at 15.57 on Dec. 18. The index hit a recent intraday high of 19.93 early on Dec. 21.