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Number preference in Australian stocks

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  • Hristos Doucouliagos

Abstract

Stock price rallies/declines often terminate at price levels that are interpreted by many as areas of psychological resistance or support, while an alternative interpretation is that they coincide with price clusters. Some of these price levels tend to repeat with a regularity that is inconsistent with mere chance. In this paper, the existence of price clusters and psychological barriers is tested on a sample of 20 Australian stocks. We consider two number sequences, both derived from a base number of 100, as well as integer price levels. It is shown that Australian stock price data are not uniformly distributed and that for the majority of the stocks, price swing highs and lows are associated with certain recurring price levels. Some of the implications for trading and investing are considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Hristos Doucouliagos, 2004. "Number preference in Australian stocks," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 43-54.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apfiec:v:14:y:2004:i:1:p:43-54
    DOI: 10.1080/0960310042000164211
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
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    3. Schindler, Robert M. & Wiman, Alan R., 1989. "Effects of odd pricing on price recall," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 165-177, November.
    4. 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.
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    2. Sveltana Vlady, 2015. "The Effect of Climate Change on Australian Stock Equity Returns," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(3), pages 88-109.
    3. Ng, Travis & Chong, Terence & Du, Xin, 2010. "The value of superstitions," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 293-309, June.
    4. 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.
    5. Jan Fidrmuc & J. D. Tena, 2015. "Friday the 13th: The Empirics of Bad Luck," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 317-334, August.
    6. Dlugosz, Stephan & Müller-Funk, Ulrich, 2012. "Ziffernanalyse zur Betrugserkennung in Finanzverwaltungen: Prüfung von Kassenbelegen," Arbeitsberichte des Instituts für Wirtschaftsinformatik 133, University of Münster, Department of Information Systems.

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