Does The Stock Market Ever Make A Big Move On Black Friday?

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY is off to a characteristically sluggish start to its abbreviated Black Friday trading session, opening up roughly 0.2 percent. Traders have gotten used to a boring, low-volume Black Friday session in recent years, but the Black Friday trading session hasn’t always been so boring.

A Historical Look Back

The SPY hasn’t moved more than 0.2 percent in either direction on Black Friday for the past three years. However, back in 2012, Black Friday traders were treated to a nice 1.3 percent gain.

In fact, from 2007–2010, the S&P 500 moved at least 1.1 percent in one direction or the other for four consecutive Black Fridays. The largest Black Friday move of the past decade has been a 1.7 percent gain back in 2007.

Overall, the SPY ETF has averaged an unimpressive 0.08 percent gain during the past 10 Black Fridays. Early trading suggests this Black Friday session will likely be typical of the low-volume, low-volatility trading during the abbreviated session.

While the market as a whole may not be very exciting on Friday, a handful of stocks are delivering solid early gains. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd KORS, a key Black Friday retailer, is up 2.0 percent.