Sell Rosh Hashanah, Buy Yom Kippur

From Market Watch [sent by a friend]:


It might seem arbitrary to take investing advice from old market adages, but there is one market strategy commonly mentioned ahead of the Jewish holidays – “Sell Rosh Hashanah, Buy Yom Kippur.”

This year, Rosh Hashanah, which is the beginning of the year according to the traditional Jewish calendar, begins at sunset on Sunday, Sept. 25. It will run through nightfall on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Meanwhile, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, begins 10 days later on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

“The thesis is that folks sell positions on Rosh Hashanah the first of the Days of Awe to rid themselves of financial commitments and then return to the market after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement,” wrote Jeff Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader’s Almanac, in a note on Friday. “It is no coincidence that this coincides with the seasonal September/October weakness.”

The U.S. stock market extended its losses on Friday with both the S&P 500 SPX, -1.72% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.62% trading below their 2022 intraday lows reached in June. According to Hirsch, it might be a bit late this year for traders to follow the traditional market strategy to sell at Rosh Hashanah, but the chance to buy at Yom Kippur is already set up.