On Monday, the S&P 500 (^GSPC<\/a>) erased its Iran war drop and climbed back above its prewar closing level.<\/p>\n The CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX<\/a>) tells the same story. It surged above 30 in the early days of the war \u2014 a zone often associated with acute market stress \u2014 and is now back to a 17-handle, below the 20 level that often marks elevated risk.<\/p>\n That round trip happened in just eight trading sessions. Last year, after the “Liberation Day” sell-off, the same move from a close above 30 to a close below 20 took 26 sessions.<\/p>\n One caveat: The size of the spike matters too. Last year\u2019s VIX peak topped 80, versus roughly 35 this time, so a faster trip back below 20 partly reflects a smaller shock to begin with.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/em>How to protect your money during turmoil, stock market volatility<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n But the pattern is hard to miss in the chart above. Earlier volatility spikes often took months to fully cool. More recent ones have tended to burn off much faster, sometimes in just days or a few weeks. This latest unwind ranks among the quickest in recent years.<\/p>\n That helps explain why stocks keep bouncing back so quickly. Volatility flare-ups are increasingly being treated as events to fade, not trends to follow.<\/p>\n Put differently, investors have been trained to buy the dip fast because that trade keeps working.<\/p>\n Interactive Brokers strategist Steve Sosnick has long argued that the VIX is not really a \u201cfear index,\u201d<\/a> but more a reflection of demand for downside protection and broader options-market volatility pricing.<\/p>\n Still, the market takeaway is similar. Last year, the S&P 500 needed 88 sessions to get back to a record high after the “Liberation Day” sell-off. This time, it is already within 0.5% of a record close, only 53 sessions after the March 30 low.<\/p>\n Jared Blikre is the global markets and data editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @SPYJared or email him at <\/em>jaredblikre@yahooinc.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>