The fear indicator of Wall Street reaches its highest level since February, while the stock sale accelerates

Wall Street's favorite fear indicator, the Cboe volatility index, hit its highest level since mid-February as traders accelerated the sale of their shares on Thursday afternoon.

The VIX measures the prices of put options on the S & P 500 versus the prices of the purchase options. A rising VIX theoretically means that investors are increasingly concerned about the market and are placing more bets to protect themselves.

Equities added to the week's strong losses on Thursday, a day after major indexes suffered significant losses from higher rates and a sell-off in tech stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 500 points on Thursday, dropping its losses in two days to more than 1,400 points. The S & P 500 fell 2.1% and was on the roll for six days. The broad index also fell below the 200-day moving average for the first time since May.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5% and entered corrective territory.