The Best Days to Trade Stocks - Quantified Strategies (2024)

What are the best days to trade stocks?

The best days to trade stocks are Tuesdays, the first days of a month, the last days of a month, and the end of the year (4th quarter).

Becoming a proficient trader involves recognizing when it’s best to trade, making it crucial to identify the art of knowing when to take the front seat. Consequently, determining the most favorable days to trade stocks is just as crucial as any other aspect.

We must establish specific trading rules to conduct a backtest analysis of the best days to trade stocks. In this article, we perform three separate backtests: the first examines weekdays, the second the best days of the month, and the third backtest evaluates the trading performance throughout the year by looking at calendar days.

In the backtests, we use S&P 500 as a proxy for the stock market. We use the cash index and backtest from 1960 until today.

  • What Are The Worst Days To Trade Stocks?

What are the best days to trade stocks? Weekdays

We start by looking at weekdays. Specifically, we look at the performance from the close of one trading day to the close of the next.

The performance for weekdays looks like this:

Mondays-0.04%
Tuesdays0.05%
Wednesdays0.07%
Thursdays0.03%
Fridays0.05%

Historically Wednesdays and Fridays have been the best over the last 60 years.

If we look at the recent performance, from 1995, it looks slightly different:

Mondays0.02%
Tuesdays0.08%
Wednesdays0.04%
Thursdays0.02%
Fridays0.03%

Tuesdays are the best day to trade stocks! Because of the strong performance on Tuesdays, we developed a strategy called Turnaround Tuesday trading strategy. The linked article offers several specific trading rules for free.

What is not shown in the backtests is that all the gains have come from the close to the next open, and thus there’s no money to be made by being invested from the open to the close (intraday/day trading). We have covered this phenomenon in a separate article:

  • Night Strategies Trading (Overnight Trading Strategies)

What are the best days to trade stocks? Trading days of the month

In the table below, we have backtested the performance of each calendar day of the month from 1960:

Calendar dayAverage profit %
10.17
20.13
30.05
40.03
50.1
60.06
7-0.03
80.03
9-0.07
100.05
110.01
120.05
130.04
140.03
150.05
160.13
170.05
180.04
19-0.14
20-0.04
210.01
22-0.05
23-0.03
24-0.01
250.01
260.08
27-0.02
280.09
290.07
300.03
310.09

Clearly, we can see that the best days to trade stocks are clustered around the first and last days of the month. We have developed this seasonality into a potential trading strategy:

  • The Turn Of The Month Trading Strategy

Do the best days to trade stocks change depending on the backtest period? Let’s look at the data from 1995:

Calendar dayAverage profit %
10.23
20.15
30.05
40.11
50.1
60.05
7-0.09
80.1
9-0.17
100.03
11-0.07
120.02
130.14
140.02
150.06
160.21
170.03
180.12
19-0.11
20-0.13
210.05
22-0.03
23-0.03
240.01
250.11
260.12
27-0.1
280.13
290.1
30-0.03
310

The results differ, but the “turn of the month” seasonality is still strong.

What are the best days to trade stocks? Calendar days of the year

Let’s look at the performance of each day separated by months, i.e. each specific day of the year. The table below shows the performance of all calendar days back to 1960:

The colors indicate the performance of the day. Because of the long-term upward bias in stocks, most days are green. That’s why you want to save for retirement as early as possible!

The colors indicate that September is a poor month, and the last three months of the year are good for trading stocks.

  • September Is The Worst Month For Stocks

What are the best days to trade stocks? Conclusion

The best days to trade stocks have recently been Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If we look at the days of the month, the best days to trade have been at the beginning and the end of the month. If we zoom out, the best days to trade stocks are at the end of the year.

However, the results vary, so this article’s information is, at best, just guidance. Please make sure you backtest your ideas before you risk your own money!

FAQ:

What are the best days to trade stocks?

The backtests reveal that the gains in the best days to trade stocks often come from the close to the next open. The best days to trade stocks are generally Tuesdays, the first days and last days of the month, and the end of the year (4th quarter). These days have shown historical patterns of favorable stock market performance.

How is the performance of weekdays in stock trading?

Historically, Wednesdays and Fridays have shown the best performance over the last 60 years. However, recent data, especially since 1995, indicates that Tuesdays have been consistently strong, leading to the development of the Turnaround Tuesday trading strategy.

Which days of the month show the best performance in stock trading?

While there may be variations in results based on different backtest periods, the “turn of the month” seasonality remains strong. The best days to trade stocks are clustered around the first and last days of the month. The Turn of the Month Trading Strategy capitalizes on this seasonality, aiming to benefit from the favorable performance during these specific calendar days.

The Best Days to Trade Stocks - Quantified Strategies (2024)

FAQs

The Best Days to Trade Stocks - Quantified Strategies? ›

Historically Wednesdays and Fridays have been the best over the last 60 years. Tuesdays are the best day to trade stocks! Because of the strong performance on Tuesdays, we developed a strategy called Turnaround Tuesday trading strategy. The linked article offers several specific trading rules for free.

What is the 11am rule in trading? ›

It is not a hard and fast rule, but rather a guideline that has been observed by many traders over the years. The logic behind this rule is that if the market has not reversed by 11 am EST, it is less likely to experience a significant trend reversal during the remainder of the trading day.

What is the best day of the week to trade stocks? ›

Timing the stock market is difficult, but understanding when to trade stocks can help your portfolio. The best time of day to buy stocks is usually in the morning, shortly after the market opens. Mondays and Fridays tend to be good days to trade stocks, while the middle of the week is less volatile.

What is the best successful day trading strategy? ›

While these strategies can help make cash within a day, it's important not to expect immediate success and to have a risk tolerance to lose all trades.
  • Scalping. ...
  • Trend Following. ...
  • Gap Trading. ...
  • Ichimoku Kinko Hyo Indicator Trading. ...
  • Breakout Trading. ...
  • Range Trading. ...
  • News Trading. ...
  • Pullback Trading.
Apr 15, 2024

What is the 10 am rule in stocks? ›

Some traders follow something called the "10 a.m. rule." The stock market opens for trading at 9:30 a.m., and the time between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. often has significant trading volume. Traders that follow the 10 a.m. rule think a stock's price trajectory is relatively set for the day by the end of that half-hour.

What is the 3-5-7 rule in trading? ›

A risk management principle known as the “3-5-7” rule in trading advises diversifying one's financial holdings to reduce risk. The 3% rule states that you should never risk more than 3% of your whole trading capital on a single deal.

What is the 15 minute rule in trading? ›

A buy signal is given when price exceeds the high of the 15 minute range after an up gap. A sell signal is given when price moves below the low of the 15 minute range after a down gap. It's a simple technique that works like a charm in many cases.

Is it better to sell stock on Friday or Monday? ›

Traders who subscribe to this theory believe selling on Friday allows them to take advantage of this increase in stock price, therefore maximizing their profits. Additionally, selling on Friday can provide a sense of security over the weekend, when markets are closed and sudden news can affect stock prices come Monday.

Is it better to buy stock on Friday or Monday? ›

Best day of the week to buy stock: Monday

This would make Monday purchases even more sensible since you may have a better chance of getting in at a good price, although you'll probably want to wait until the expected Monday decline has happened first to time your entry point.

What is the cheapest day of the week to buy stocks? ›

Historically, Mondays have often been considered a good day to buy stocks, primarily due to the 'Weekend Effect' or 'Monday Effect'. This theory suggests that stock prices tend to drop on Mondays due to negative news released over the weekend.

What is the most profitable trading strategy of all time? ›

Three most profitable Forex trading strategies
  1. Scalping strategy “Bali” This strategy is quite popular, at least, you can find its description on many trading websites. ...
  2. Candlestick strategy “Fight the tiger” ...
  3. “Profit Parabolic” trading strategy based on a Moving Average.
Jan 19, 2024

What is the simplest most profitable trading strategy? ›

One of the simplest and most widely known fundamental strategies is value investing. This strategy involves identifying undervalued assets based on their intrinsic value and holding onto them until the market recognizes their true worth.

What is the 3 minute chart strategy? ›

The 3 minute chart trading strategy allows traders to capture more opportunities in a shorter amount of time. With each candle representing just three minutes of market activity, traders can quickly spot trends and price action changes.

What is 80 rule in stock market? ›

In investing, the 80-20 rule generally holds that 20% of the holdings in a portfolio are responsible for 80% of the portfolio's growth. On the flip side, 20% of a portfolio's holdings could be responsible for 80% of its losses.

What is the 3 day rule in stocks? ›

The 3-Day Rule in stock trading refers to the settlement rule that requires the finalization of a transaction within three business days after the trade date. This rule impacts how payments and orders are processed, requiring traders to have funds or credit in their accounts to cover purchases by the settlement date.

What is rule 1 in stock market? ›

It comes from a Warren Buffet idea that Phil Town expounds in Rule #1: Find a wonderful business, determine its value, buy its stock for half that value, and repeat until rich.

What is the 5 minute rule in trading? ›

If a stock opens close to the stop but not below it and trades down through the stop within the first 5 minutes of trade, then we use the “5 minute rule”. Again, we are not out of the position on the original stop, but rather will let the stock trade for a full 5 minutes (until 9:35am EST) before taking any action.

What is the rule of 7 trading? ›

Rule 7 supplements or replaces those rules relating to stock options where required by the nature of index options. In cases where Rule 7 is silent on an issue, the applicable section of the rules relating to stock options shall be read so as to apply to index options.]

What time of day are stock prices lowest? ›

During the last 10-15 minutes before market close. Or about an hour after the market opens. And lastly to avoid the lunchtimes as it's generally the quietest time of the market day of you want to get the best price possible for either the buy or the sale.

What is the 2 rule in trading? ›

One popular method is the 2% Rule, which means you never put more than 2% of your account equity at risk (Table 1). For example, if you are trading a $50,000 account, and you choose a risk management stop loss of 2%, you could risk up to $1,000 on any given trade.

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