Wall Street’s primary fear gauge continued to retreat ahead of the long holiday weekend, with the Cboe Volatility Index sliding about 4% to 14.26 on Thursday, its lowest reading of the year and within striking distance of the 52-week trough of 12.70. Futures on the index extended the decline by roughly 1.5%, pointing to further calm as August trading winds down. Strategists said the pullback reflects a lull in market-moving headlines, the customary decay in options prices before holidays and a broadly upbeat earnings season. Traders cited “vanna” flows and elevated theta costs as additional forces encouraging volatility sellers while many desks prepare to stand down for the three-day break. The softer risk backdrop comes as the S&P 500 recently breached 6,500 for the first time, even as benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hover near 4.20%. U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed Monday, Sept. 1, for Labor Day and will reopen on Tuesday, giving investors an extra day to assess whether the record-high equity run can endure once volatility normalizes.