Economic data strengthen the expectation of a "soft landing" in the US, with the panic index falling 60%.

On Thursday, the U.S. stock market surged and volatility continued to decline, as the latest retail sales and initial jobless claims data boosted confidence in a "soft landing" for the U.S. economy. Notably, this round of volatility decline marks the largest seven-day drop in history.

In the past seven trading days, the VIX index (also known as the fear index), which measures the volatility of the S&P 500 index, fell from 38.57 to 15.30, a 60.3% drop. On Thursday, the VIX index briefly fell to 14.77, the lowest level since July 23, and has erased the large increase on August 5.

Market participants may look to related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or exchange-traded notes (ETNs) for investment opportunities.

Short volatility funds include: iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX.US), Volatility Index Short-Term Futures ETF-ProShares (VIXY.US).

Mid-term volatility funds: iPath S&P VIX Mid-Term Bull ETN (VXZ.US), ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF (VIXM.US).

Leverage volatility funds: ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures (UVXY.US), ProShares Short VIX Futures ETF (SVXY.US), 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (UVIX.US).