Day-of-the-Week Trading Patterns of Individual and Institutional Investors

Abstract

This study examines the day-of-the-week trading patterns of individual and institutional investors. Consistent with previous evidence, we find an increase in the proportion of Monday trading volume attributable to individual investors relative to other days of the week. However, we document that this increase results from a reduction in trading by institutional investors, rather than from an absolute increase in trading by individual investors. In fact, the absolute trading volume by individual investors is significantly lower on Monday than on any other weekday. We also document that the degree of day-of-the-week effect varies with the quality and dissemination of public information proxied by the market capitalization of each company.