Friday the 13th Turns Out to Be a Pretty Lucky Day for Stocks

Whadaya know? It seems Friday the 13th—that’s today, in case you’re checking your calendar—isn’t so bad for the stock market. Going back to 1928, the dozen times that Friday the 13th occurred in August, the broad market had an average return of 0.51%.

“Fortunately, the unlucky nature of Friday the 13th hasn’t tripped up US stocks in the past. In fact, the past two saw huge gains,” said Ryan Detrick, LPL Financial’s chief market strategist and resident market historian. According to his research paper, today is the first Friday the 13th since November 2020, when the market scored a tidy 1.4%. And the Friday the 13th before that, in March 2020, posted a record for that much-feared day, 9.3%.

Friday the 13th occurs at least once a year, and can happen up to three times in any given year, says data site timeanddate.com. The number 13 is considered unlucky, National Geographic states, stemming from a Norse myth involving a dinner of 12 gods that the trickster god Loki wasn’t invited to. He showed up anyway and slew one of the guests—and the earth turned dark. So why Friday? Another theory is that its bad rep relates to the Last Supper, when 13 people were present; Jesus was crucified the next day, Friday.

For whatever reason that the day is deemed unlucky in folklore, the reverse is true in the stock market. Or at least that has been the case, LPL’s research shows, since the 1920s, when the predecessor of the S&P 500 index was created.

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. 

The index does quite well when a Friday the 13th takes place during August, a historically weak month. Only March (with an average return of 0.56%) and June (0.55%) did better. Indeed, an August Friday the 13th is positive 75% of the time, exceeded only by June, at 84.6%.

One advantage Friday the 13th has is that Friday, regardless of the date, has been the best-performing day in the S&P 500’s existence, in terms of logging positive returns, 54.6% of the time. Mondays are the worst, in general, with positive performances just 48.5% of the time. Perhaps investors are jumpy or just in a foul mood on the work week’s first day.

In case you were wondering, Detrick notes, a fear of the actual day of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia. Take your pick.

Whatever happens today, the trend has been positive this week, with S&P 500 increases Tuesday through Thursday. Yesterday closed up 0.3%.

In Detrick’s view, “Black cats and broken mirrors might be scary on this day, but stocks shouldn’t be.”

Drama Aside, Meme Stocks Are Having a Good Year So Far

Rescue for Falling Bank Stocks: An End to Payout Curbs

Tags: Friday the 13th, Jesus, Loki, LPL Financial, Monday, Ryan Detrick, S&P 500, Stocks

The fund will evaluate 42 firms that it says are ill prepared for a transition to a low-carbon environment, including ConocoPhillips, Hess, and Marathon Oil.

The $254.8 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund is evaluating 42 publicly traded shale oil and gas companies to determine if they are prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The fund said it will scrutinize companies that derive more than 10% of their revenue from crude oil and gas production from shale, including major energy companies such as ConocoPhillips, Hess Corp., and Marathon Oil Corp. It said companies that produce oil and gas from shale face financial risks from diminishing cost competitiveness, increasing climate regulation, and declining fossil fuel demand.

“A low-carbon economy is already becoming a reality and companies that aren’t prepared for it could pay a heavy financial cost,” New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who is the pension fund’s trustee, said in a statement. “Shale oil and gas companies face significant economic, environmental, and regulatory challenges. We will carefully review these companies and may restrict investments in those that do not have viable plans to adapt.”

The fund has asked the companies under review to provide additional information within 60 days that shows how they are developing, adopting, or implementing low-carbon transition strategies. The evaluations are part of DiNapoli’s Climate Action Plan, which is intended to lessen investment risks posed by climate change, and help the fund’s investment portfolio transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. 

DiNapoli also said the fund would restrict investments in five coal producing companies: New Hope Corp., PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk, Semirara Mining and Power Corp., Shanxi Coking Coal Energy Group Co., and Whitehaven Coal Ltd. He said the fund will not directly purchase or hold debt or equity securities in the companies, nor will it invest in them through an actively managed account or vehicle. He said approximately $1.8 million in such securities are currently held by the fund and will eventually be sold “in a prudent manner and time frame.”

Last year, DiNapoli put coal companies under a similar review, which led to the fund divesting from 22 companies that failed to demonstrate transition readiness. And earlier this year, DiNapoli announced the fund would restrict investments in seven oil sands companies after conducting its initial transition readiness assessment. He said the fund decided to ban investments in oil sands companies because they produce a heavy type of crude oil that is more costly and carbon-intensive than other forms of crude production.