EXCLUSIVE: CBOE VIX index froze at open - exchange official

Trading in options on Wall Street's fear gauge was impossible in the first minutes of Monday's session due to a complete absence of prices from the market makers on whom trading depends, a representative of index operator CBOE Global Markets Inc said.

CBOE Senior Trade Desk Specialist Ryan Stone told Reuters that VIX options were tradable at 9:51 am ET (1351 GMT) but a lack of liquidity led to a lag of about seven minutes until the first trade, around 9:58 am ET.

The VIX surged after trading resumed to its highest level since December 2008 after trading in the S&P 500 was halted for 15 minutes following its open as panic selling due to the spreading coronavirus triggered circuit breakers.