NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's most watched gauge of investor anxiety jumped to a more than three-month high on Thursday as U.S. stocks fell sharply after a round of data on Thursday spurred concerns the economy may be slowing faster than anticipated.

The Cboe Volatility Index hit 19.48, its highest since April 19, before paring gains to finish at 18.59. The jump came as the S&P 500 fell nearly 1.4%. A 2.3% drop in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, meanwhile, brought it within two percentage points of a 10% decline from a record high reached last month.

The options-based VIX index, which has been largely subdued with an average reading of 13.96 so far this year, has perked up in recent weeks as investors have grown increasingly apprehensive about the outlook for corporate earnings and economic growth.

The concerns, which have pulled the S&P 500 Index down about 4% from its July 16 record closing high of 5,667.2, have also spurred a jump in trading in VIX options. The index is up 14% year-to-date.

On Thursday, some 1.5 million VIX options contracts changed hands, nearly twice the average daily volume for the options, according to Trade Alert data.

Thursday's jump brought the index closer to its long-term average of 19.5.

Meanwhile, the VVIX index - a gauge of expected swings in the fear index - closed up 16.93 points at 111.18, signaling investors expect sharp near-term swings in the VIX.