The World Cup Is on, and Traders Are Watching
S&P 500 and corporate-bond volumes are already low because traders turn their attention to the soccer game.
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During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, US equity trading volume fell 43% when the US was playing, according to a study by two European Central Bank economists. That’s not the most in the world — in Chile it fell more than 99% — but there’s a good chance that will be surpassed this afternoon as the US faces a crunch match against Iran.
The winner is likely to qualify for the final 16 of the competition. That’s a feat the US achieved in 2010 and 2014, though its best World Cup performance was in 1930, where it reached the semi-final of the first FIFA World Cup in Uruguay before losing 6-1 to Argentina in a violent clash.