CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 8.43 to 33.34 and session highs, as the S&P 500 Index (.SPX) suffers a 39-point loss Thursday. The focus remains on the European debt crisis and concerns about the potential impact on banking systems and economic activity. Portfolio hedging is on the rise, with 924,000 puts traded across the indexes (about 75K in the past five minutes alone). S&P 500 1200 puts are the most actives. VIX May 27.5 calls, SPX May 1100, SPX May 1125, VIX May 25 calls round out today’s top 5 most actives index contracts. VIX is now at levels last seen in May 26, 2009 (intraday high of 34.57), up a whopping 65 percent since Monday.