Superstitious or not, it was a dismal day in the markets: The Nasdaq fell 1.4%, the S&P 500 1.2% and the Dow Jones industrial average 1.1%. Volume edged up on the Nasdaq and fell 4% on the NYSE, according to preliminary data.
I just walked by the call center that we have here in my office and heard one of the managers giving the reps a "talk" about it being Friday the 13th and they need to do the best they can. LOL, that is not something I expected today.
We can be as rational as you want. But there are a surprising amount of superstitions associated with the stock market. One of the weirdest Friday the 13th traditions, as Art Cashin explained today, is Hat Day.
...Prior to 1988, floor brokers used to have fun with the myth by declaring Friday the 13th "Hat Day". Brokers would don silly and bizarre headgear, pretending to ward off the evil spirits.
The last official "Hat Day" occurred in 1987. It was on Friday, November 13th, to be exact. A few weeks earlier on Monday, October 19th, U.S. stockmarkets had suffered their worst selloff in history. The Dow fell 20% in one day. That would be the equivalent of a 2,500 point selloff today. The '87 crash was far, far worse than the '29 crash on a percentage basis.
Stocks tumbled on Friday the 13th after disappointing earnings and concerns about China. The sell-off is the latest worry in what's been a tough April for the market.
It is very interesting to think of the mysterious ways our brain functions. However much you tell yourself not to be worried about a simple date our mind is programmed to worry about Friday the 13. The funny thing is that when you keep thinking that something is going to go wrong with the stock it inevitably does. But there are so many more things to worry about than a date I'm with you in that Telecomfreq.
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