Fear Gauge Falls With Wall Street Feeling Zen After Cease-Fire, Powell Testimony

Between a Middle-East truce and signs that interest-rate cuts are coming, investors were finding plenty of reasons to feel calm on Wednesday.

The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, fell by a quarter of a point to just over 17 in early trading. The widely followed fear index tracks S&P 500 options contracts, with any reading of below 20 tending to signal relatively low volatility.

Wall Street is betting the cease-fire between Iran and Israel will hold, and investors are also hopeful that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will offer further hints that the central bank is aiming to cut interest rates in September when he appears in front of the Senate Banking Committee.