The Blubber

The S&P 500 has gone 377 days without a 2.05% sell-off, marking the longest streak for the benchmark since the great financial crisis, according to FactSet data compiled by CNBC. During this period, the index also hasn't seen a gain of at least 2.15%.

Nvidia, bolstered by expectations that artificial intelligence will boost profits, has contributed significantly to the S&P 500's performance, which is up more than 14% year-to-date. Expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts have further supported the broad market index in 2024, as new data indicates inflation is moving closer to the central bank’s 2% target.

“At a high level, the clouds of macro uncertainty have parted over the last 12 months as receding inflation provided much-needed clarity into the future path of monetary policy,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. "The changing narrative from rate hikes to rate cuts and recessions to economic resilience helped drag the VIX down to multiyear lows, ultimately shifting the backdrop for stocks to a low volatility from high volatility regime.”

Many investors view the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) as the de facto fear gauge on Wall Street. Last month, the VIX hit its lowest level since November 2020, trading around 13 on Friday, near historically low levels.

“The low VIX reflects the options market’s complacency, with VIX at a three-year low,” said Joseph Cusick, senior vice president and portfolio specialist at Calamos Investments. “This makes sense since institutions have been actively hedging; there is no urgency to sell underlying assets with these insurance products in place.”

It's uncertain how long this low-volatility period will last.

In 2017, the S&P 500 recorded only eight daily moves of more than 1%, while the VIX fell to historic lows below 9. However, volatility returned to the market the following year, and the VIX surged above 50 before easing.