When the teams kick off, the traders kick back — and there’s data to prove it
In soccer-mad Brazil and Argentina the reduction was even more pronounced, at 75% and 80% respectively. It fell 38% in Europe and 43% in the US
London — The Soccer World Cup kicks off in Russia on Thursday and investors should be warned that financial markets tend to act like any emotional soccer fan during the matches — they go quiet and nervy and don’t like losing. More than two-thirds (43) of the 64 games in this year’s tournament will be played during European or Latin American trading hours which has been shown to significantly change market behaviour. During the 2010 World Cup in SA — the last to have similarly timed matches to those in Russia — stock market trading volumes dropped an average of 55% when the country’s teams were playing, according to a study. In soccer-mad Brazil and Argentina the reduction was even more pronounced, at 75% and 80% respectively. It fell 38% in Europe and 43% in the US, while big moments like goals cut activity by a further 5%. "People are distracted so it is bound to happen again, that would be my take," says Michael Ehrmann, the European Central Bank’s head of monetary policy research...
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