SAO PAULO, March 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian exchange

operator B3 and S&P Dow Jones Indices on Tuesday launched the

first volatility index of Brazil's domestic market, to be

calculated based on the methodology of the CBOE Volatility Index

, known as Wall Street's fear gauge.

The S&P/B3 Ibovespa VIX will measure the 30-day

volatility of options from Brazil's equities benchmark Bovespa

, the companies said in a joint statement.

Volatility indexes measure the so-called implicit volatility

of an equity market, and are used by investors as a gauge of

market sentiment and as a leading indicator for price moves.

"Brazil's options market hit a new level in terms of volume

traded, which allowed the launch of this index and made it

possible to bring a methodology already used in other parts of

the world to the local market," B3's head of indexes,

Henio Scheidt, said in the statement.