About VIX Daily Price
The VIX Daily Price dataset by CBOE covers 8 US volatility indices. The data starts in January 1990 and is delivered on a daily frequency. The dataset is cached daily from the CBOE website. The volatility index measures the stock market's expectation of volatility on the market index (e.g.: S&P500) using implied volatility from its Options for a fixed time horizon.
About CBOE
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is the largest U.S. options exchange with annual trading volume that hovered around 1.27 billion contracts at the end of 2014. CBOE offers Options on over 2,200 companies, 22 Equity indices, and 140 exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
About QuantConnect
QuantConnect was founded in 2012 to serve quants everywhere with the best possible algorithmic trading technology. Seeking to disrupt a notoriously closed-source industry, QuantConnect takes a radically open-source approach to algorithmic trading. Through the QuantConnect web platform, more than 50,000 quants are served every month.
Algorithm Example
class CBOEDataAlgorithmAlgorithm(QCAlgorithm):
def Initialize(self):
self.SetStartDate(2014,1,1)
self.SetEndDate(2018,1,1)
self.SetCash(25000)
self.spy = self.AddEquity("SPY", Resolution.Daily).Symbol
# Define the symbol and "type" of our generic data
self.vix = self.AddData(CBOE, 'VIX', Resolution.Daily).Symbol
self.vxv = self.AddData(CBOE, 'VIX3M', Resolution.Daily).Symbol
# Set up default Indicators, these are just 'identities' of the closing price
self.vix_sma = self.SMA(self.vix, 1, Resolution.Daily)
self.vxv_sma = self.SMA(self.vxv, 1, Resolution.Daily)
# This will create a new indicator whose value is smaVXV / smaVIX
self.ratio = IndicatorExtensions.Over(self.vxv_sma, self.vix_sma)
# Plot indicators each time they update using the PlotIndicator function
self.PlotIndicator("Ratio", self.ratio)
self.PlotIndicator("Data", self.vix_sma, self.vxv_sma)
history = self.History(CBOE, self.vix, 60, Resolution.Daily)
self.Debug(f"We got {len(history.index)} items from our history request");
def OnData(self, data):
# Wait for all indicators to fully initialize
if not (self.vix_sma.IsReady and self.vxv_sma.IsReady and self.ratio.IsReady): return
if not self.Portfolio.Invested and self.ratio.Current.Value > 1:
self.MarketOrder(self.spy, 100)
elif self.ratio.Current.Value < 1:
self.Liquidate()
Example Applications
- Understanding the stock market's level of expected forward-looking volatility, also known as the "fear index". When the VIX starts moving higher, it is telling you that traders are getting nervous. When the VIX starts moving lower, it is telling you that traders are gaining confidence.
- Determine forward-looking volatility by comparing the VIX against volatility indexes with other volatility. By comparing the value of the VIX to the value of the VIX3M, we can identify periods when trader sentiment has turned extremely bearish and when it has normalized.
Pricing
Cloud Access
Freely harness CBOE daily data in the QuantConnect Cloud for your backtesting and live trading purposes.
Download On Premise
CBOE daily data archived in LEAN format for on premise backtesting and research. One file per index that is updated daily.
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