Typically, stocks and the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) move in the same direction only about 20% of the time. However, on Tuesday, as the S&P 500 rose 1.8%, the VIX index climbed a point and continued to rise with the stock market during early trading on Wednesday. This phenomenon occurs when the VIX is low and the market is rising rapidly, with heavy buying of call options forcing the VIX higher. Cboe data shows that S&P 500 options trading volume exceeded 4 million contracts on Tuesday, reaching an all-time high. Concurrently, Nasdaq 100 call option prices surged 42%, marking their largest single-day gain in five years, indicating strong bullish sentiment that drove up option prices and implied volatility, thus causing the VIX to rise alongside the stock market.