Reuters reports that the FTSE 100 has "slipped on US jitters." This might be another to add to New Economist's list of bad explanations for market moves.
What it doesn't say is that it's perfectly common for the UK market to fall the day after the clocks change. This paper (pdf) by Lisa Kramer, Mark Kamstra and Muarice Levi estimates that the market fell by an average of 0.4% on the Mondays after the clocks went back between 1969 and 1998. The market also falls (on average) after the clocks go forward in the spring.
A similar thing happens in the US.
A criticism of these results is here. And here's a reply (pdf) to them.
The reason for this, the authors say, is that the change in the clocks disrupts our sleep patterns and so makes us more anxious and hence likely to shun risky investments.
The story here, of course, is not merely about trivial moves in share prices. It's about decision-making. If investment decisions can be clouded by systematic changes in our circadian rhythms, what other decisions can be so affected?
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