Is there a connection between, Worldcup, European cup and the Singapore stock market?
How accurate is the saying Sell in May and Go Away?

The facts speak for itself……….

I did a quick check on historical data back from 1990 till 2006 for the Singapore Straits Times Index movement in the month of May ie the month before world cup and European cup which normally start in June during even years (eg 1990, 1992, 1994 etc).

The data showed that with the exception of 1990 and 1992, from May 1994 till May 2006, STI fell in ALL the even years. This is pretty convincing numbers if you do not believe it’s a coincidence.

One likely explanation for the weak performance in the month of May is that punters, dealers and fund managers have shifted their interests to football. And over the years, as this trend became more apparent, it also turned into a self fulfilling prophesy as more and more people act in anticipation of this trend.

So far, the saying Sell in May and Go Away is absolutely spot on during even years, especially since 1994 till 2006.

Let’s see if this trend will repeat again in May 2008 before the European Cup.

How bout odd year for May?
I will have to do some homework on that later on.