IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecofin/v36y2016icp267-278.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Invisible walls: Do psychological barriers really exist in stock index levels?

Author

Listed:
  • Woodhouse, Sam Alan
  • Singh, Harminder
  • Bhattacharya, Sukanto
  • Kumar, Kuldeep

Abstract

We investigate whether the levels of a stock market index contain any evidence of a behavioural bias depending on the proximity of the index level to ‘psychological barriers’. These are certain index levels (usually in multiples of 100) at which the market tends to stick before breaking out either up or down. Extant behavioural finance literature has attributed this to investors’ subjective perception of ‘something special’ about certain index levels where in fact no rational economic basis exists for such a perception. We carry out an empirical analysis of the NASDAQ Composite index and find that barrier effects are indeed present in that stock index. We employ simulation analysis to validate of our obtained results.

Suggested Citation

  • Woodhouse, Sam Alan & Singh, Harminder & Bhattacharya, Sukanto & Kumar, Kuldeep, 2016. "Invisible walls: Do psychological barriers really exist in stock index levels?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 267-278.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecofin:v:36:y:2016:i:c:p:267-278
    DOI: 10.1016/j.najef.2016.01.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S106294081630002X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.najef.2016.01.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael S. Rashes, 2001. "Massively Confused Investors Making Conspicuously Ignorant Choices (MCI–MCIC)," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(5), pages 1911-1927, October.
    2. Peng, Lin & Xiong, Wei, 2006. "Investor attention, overconfidence and category learning," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 563-602, June.
    3. Beatriz Fernández & Teresa Garcia‐Merino & Rosa Mayoral & Valle Santos & Eleuterio Vallelado, 2011. "Herding, information uncertainty and investors' cognitive profile," Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(1), pages 7-33, April.
    4. Raj Aggarwal & Brian M. Lucey, 2007. "Psychological barriers in gold prices?," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 217-230.
    5. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. De Bondt, Werner F M & Thaler, Richard, 1985. "Does the Stock Market Overreact?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(3), pages 793-805, July.
    7. Robert I. Webb & Jason Mitchell, 2001. "Clustering and psychological barriers: the importance of numbers," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(5), pages 395-428, May.
    8. De Ceuster, Marc J. K. & Dhaene, Geert & Schatteman, Tom, 1998. "On the hypothesis of psychological barriers in stock markets and Benford's Law," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 263-279, September.
    9. Donaldson, R. Glen & Kim, Harold Y., 1993. "Price Barriers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(3), pages 313-330, September.
    10. Nicholas Barberis & Ming Huang, 2001. "Mental Accounting, Loss Aversion, and Individual Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1247-1292, August.
    11. Hristos Doucouliagos, 2004. "Number preference in Australian stocks," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 43-54.
    12. Cyree, Ken B. & Domian, Dale L. & Louton, David A. & Yobaccio, Elizabeth J., 1999. "Evidence of psychological barriers in the conditional moments of major world stock indices," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 73-91, June.
    13. Bertola, Giuseppe & Caballero, Ricardo J, 1992. "Target Zones and Realignments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 520-536, June.
    14. Nicholas Barberis & Ming Huang, 2001. "Mental Accounting, Loss Aversion, and Individual Stock Returns," NBER Working Papers 8190, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Hirshleifer, David & Teoh, Siew Hong, 2003. "Limited attention, information disclosure, and financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 337-386, December.
    16. Karpoff, Jonathan M, 1986. "A Theory of Trading Volume," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 41(5), pages 1069-1087, December.
    17. Koedijk, Kees G. & Stork, Philip A., 1994. "Should we care? psychological barriers in stock markets," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 427-432, April.
    18. Brad M. Barber & Terrance Odean, 2008. "All That Glitters: The Effect of Attention and News on the Buying Behavior of Individual and Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 785-818, April.
    19. Li, Jun & Yu, Jianfeng, 2012. "Investor attention, psychological anchors, and stock return predictability," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(2), pages 401-419.
    20. Bhatti, M. Ishaq & Nguyen, Cuong C., 2012. "Diversification evidence from international equity markets using extreme values and stochastic copulas," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 622-646.
    21. Seungwook Bahng, 2003. "Do Psychological Barriers Exist in the Stock Price Indices? Evidence from Asia's Emerging Markets," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 6(1), pages 35-52, March.
    22. Mobarek, Asma & Mollah, Sabur & Keasey, Kevin, 2014. "A cross-country analysis of herd behavior in Europe," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 107-127.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Júlio Lobão & Natércia Fortuna & Franklin Silva, 2020. "Do psychological barriers exist in Latin American stock markets?," Revista de Analisis Economico – Economic Analysis Review, Universidad Alberto Hurtado/School of Economics and Business, vol. 35(2), pages 29-56, October.
    2. Guo, Xu & McAleer, Michael & Wong, Wing-Keung & Zhu, Lixing, 2017. "A Bayesian approach to excess volatility, short-term underreaction and long-term overreaction during financial crises," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 346-358.
    3. Christos Alexakis & Mark Cummins & Michael Dowling & Vasileios Pappas, 2018. "A high-frequency analysis of price resolution and pricing barriers in equities on the adoption of a new currency," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(36), pages 3949-3965, August.
    4. J˙lio Lob„o & Margarida Couto, 2019. "Are there Psychological Barriers in Asian Stock Markets?," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 15(1), pages 83-106.
    5. Christos Alexakis & Mark Cummins & Michael Dowling & Vasileios Pappas, 2018. "A High-Frequency Analysis of Price Resolution and Pricing Barriers in Equities on the Adoption of a New Currency," Post-Print hal-01994666, HAL.
    6. Li, Dan & Liu, Lixin & Xu, Guangli, 2023. "Psychological barriers and option pricing in a local volatility model," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Berk, Ales S. & Cummins, Mark & Dowling, Michael & Lucey, Brian M., 2017. "Psychological price barriers in frontier equities," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-14.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Hirshleife, 2015. "Behavioral Finance," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 133-159, December.
    2. Júlio Lobão & Natércia Fortuna & Franklin Silva, 2020. "Do psychological barriers exist in Latin American stock markets?," Revista de Analisis Economico – Economic Analysis Review, Universidad Alberto Hurtado/School of Economics and Business, vol. 35(2), pages 29-56, October.
    3. Li, Jun & Yu, Jianfeng, 2012. "Investor attention, psychological anchors, and stock return predictability," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(2), pages 401-419.
    4. Ocean Fan Lu & David Giles, 2010. "Benford's Law and psychological barriers in certain eBay auctions," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(10), pages 1005-1008.
    5. Jinesh Jain & Nidhi Walia & Simarjeet Singh & Esha Jain, 2022. "Mapping the field of behavioural biases: a literature review using bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 823-855, September.
    6. John Gathergood & David Hirshleifer & David Leake & Hiroaki Sakaguchi & Neil Stewart, 2023. "Naïve Buying Diversification and Narrow Framing by Individual Investors," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 78(3), pages 1705-1741, June.
    7. Adam Zaremba & Jacob Koby Shemer, 2018. "Price-Based Investment Strategies," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-91530-2, June.
    8. Berk, Ales S. & Cummins, Mark & Dowling, Michael & Lucey, Brian M., 2017. "Psychological price barriers in frontier equities," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-14.
    9. Li, Dan & Liu, Lixin & Xu, Guangli, 2023. "Psychological barriers and option pricing in a local volatility model," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Holmes, Mark J. & Otero, Jesús, 2023. "Psychological price barriers, El Niño, La Niña: New insights for the case of coffee," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    11. Maya Shaton, 2017. "The Display of Information and Household Investment Behavior," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-043, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    12. Lucey, Michael E. & O'Connor, Fergal A., 2016. "Mind the gap: Psychological barriers in gold and silver prices," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 135-140.
    13. Dorfleitner, Gregor & Klein, Christian, 2009. "Psychological barriers in European stock markets: Where are they?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 268-285.
    14. Mitchell, Jason & Izan, H.Y., 2006. "Clustering and psychological barriers in exchange rates," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 318-344, October.
    15. Pierdzioch, Christian, 2000. "Noise Traders? Trigger Rates, FX Options, and Smiles," Kiel Working Papers 970, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    16. Anna Blajer-Gołębiewska, 2021. "Individual corporate reputation and perception of collective corporate reputation regarding stock market investments," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-21, September.
    17. Goodell, John W. & Kumar, Satish & Li, Xiao & Pattnaik, Debidutta & Sharma, Anuj, 2022. "Foundations and research clusters in investor attention: Evidence from bibliometric and topic modelling analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 511-529.
    18. Charteris, Ailie & Chau, Frankie & Gavriilidis, Konstantinos & Kallinterakis, Vasileios, 2014. "Premiums, discounts and feedback trading: Evidence from emerging markets' ETFs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 80-89.
    19. J˙lio Lob„o & Margarida Couto, 2019. "Are there Psychological Barriers in Asian Stock Markets?," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 15(1), pages 83-106.
    20. Irene Cherono & Tobias Olweny & Tabitha Nasieku, 2019. "Investor Behavior Biases and Stock Market Reaction in Kenya," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecofin:v:36:y:2016:i:c:p:267-278. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620163 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.