Anyone looking to buy and sell European stocks during the next four weeks may have an easier time trading because the region's championship soccer matches will be played at night.
As the data shows (see chart), trading slowed on local stock exchanges two years ago when World Cup games took place during the markets' regular hours. The drop in minute-by-minute volume averaged 55 per cent for companies in benchmark indexes in matches involving a country's national team, according to a study from the European Central Bank.
"Stock markets were following developments on the soccer pitch, rather than in the trading pit," economists Michael Ehrmann and David-Jan Jansen wrote in the research, published in February. Ehrmann works for the ECB in Frankfurt, and Jansen is with the Dutch central bank in Amsterdam.
Nine European countries were tracked in the study along with the US, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the World Cup's host country, South Africa. The only country where stock trading didn't decline during the matches is Denmark, as the chart illustrates.
Denmark is among 16 nations with teams competing in this year's European championship, being held in Poland and Ukraine from on Staurday through July 1. The Euro 2012 matches are scheduled to start at 6 pm or 8.45 pm central European time.
Stock trading fell 33 per cent on average during World Cup 2010 matches that didn't involve the national team, according to the study. Declines were recorded in all 15 countries, including Denmark, where the volume dropped 31 per cent.