Wall Street’s fear gauge is heading skyward.

The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, recently stood nearly 18% higher at about 53.

It had jumped above 60 in earlier trading Monday.

There have been only two periods in the last two decades when the gauge has ended the day above 50: late 2008 and early 2009, during the trough of the global financial crisis; and early 2020, during the coronavirus-induced market selloff.