The stock market was closed on Friday. This is a long-standing tradition honoring Good Friday, when – according to the Christian tradition – darkness fell for three hours.
Ominous? We can wonder.
Yet here we are – 2,000+ years later, still shutting down markets. Which raises a fun question: is Wall Street a bit superstitious?
The Wharton School says yes — and they have data to back it up.
- The Monday Effect. Stock returns tend to be lower on Mondays than any other day. No clear reason. Just… Mondays.
- Friday the 13th. Stock returns are measurably poorer than on other Fridays. Coincidence? Likely. Unusual? Without a doubt.
- Lucky Numbers in China. This is where the research gets kind of fun. In the U.S., ticker symbols use letters. In China, they use numbers. When a company goes public, they actively seek out “lucky” numbers, favoring 8 for prosperity and avoiding 4 for death.
- Zodiac Years. Some Chinese mutual funds even reduce exposure to stocks tied to their chairperson’s zodiac year – because apparently, astrology gets a seat at the asset allocation table.
So, should we be waving a sage wand around the trading floor on bad days? Or hold off on trades when Mercury is in retrograde? It’s tempting. But markets aren’t superstitious — people are. And that’s all the more reason to stay grounded in the fundamentals.
Whether you’re celebrating Easter, Passover, or just the arrival of spring, I wish you a time of joy and new beginnings.
Barbara
April 5, 2026
Source:
https://www.lgtwm-us.com/en/insights/lifestyle/the-friday-the-13th-effect-superstitions-in-behavioural-finance-232770
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