My Thursday morning message showed the Volatility Index (VIX) trying to break through resistance near 17. It rose as high as 17.65 intra-day which was the highest level in two months. Fortunately, it wasn’t able to close there. The good news is that the VIX closed at its low for the the day and dropped again on Friday. That left it well below the 17.00 resistance level. An upside breakout in the VIX would have signalled lower stock prices. The fact that the breakout attempt failed helped stabilize the market at week’s end.