India, Aug. 30 -- Wall Street is ending August in an unusually calm mood, but that calm may not last much longer. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, fell to 14.13 on Friday, its lowest level of 2026. The current calm is very different from what happened earlier this year.

In the spring, market volatility jumped sharply as headlines around the Iran war rattled investors. Volatility then slowly came down through the summer. But the market calendar suggests volatility could start picking up again. The VIX has historically started rising around this time of the year, meaning Wall Street could be heading into a more active period after a quiet summer.

Historical data shows that the VIX often rises from late August to early fall. Since 1990, ...