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Google search volume and individual investor trading

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  • Kostopoulos, Dimitrios
  • Meyer, Steffen
  • Uhr, Charline

Abstract

We relate Google search volumes, which are a proxy for the economic concerns of households (the FEARS index), to the trading behavior of approximately 100,000 individual German online-brokerage clients. We find that when the FEARS index is high, individual investors trade out of risky assets. Additionally, we find that the FEARS index has a negative short-horizon relation to stock market returns, which reverses over the following six days. This shows that the effect of economic concerns on the market is temporary, whereas on individual investors, the effect does not reverse within the next 20 days. In addition, we find that less sophisticated investors are more prone to sentiment.

Suggested Citation

  • Kostopoulos, Dimitrios & Meyer, Steffen & Uhr, Charline, 2020. "Google search volume and individual investor trading," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finmar:v:49:y:2020:i:c:s1386418120300136
    DOI: 10.1016/j.finmar.2020.100544
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ballinari, Daniele & Audrino, Francesco & Sigrist, Fabio, 2022. "When does attention matter? The effect of investor attention on stock market volatility around news releases," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Desagre, Christophe & D’Hondt, Catherine, 2021. "Googlization and retail trading activity," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    4. Gabriele M. Lepori, 2021. "A nonrandom walk down Hollywood boulevard: Celebrity deaths and investor sentiment," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 56(3), pages 591-613, August.
    5. Vera Z. Eichenauer & Ronald Indergand & Isabel Z. Martínez & Christoph Sax, 2022. "Obtaining consistent time series from Google Trends," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(2), pages 694-705, April.
    6. Kostopoulos, Dimitrios & Meyer, Steffen & Uhr, Charline, 2020. "Ambiguity and investor behavior," SAFE Working Paper Series 297, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    7. Cheng, Feiyang & Wang, Chunfeng & Chiao, Chaoshin & Yao, Shouyu & Fang, Zhenming, 2021. "Retail attention, retail trades, and stock price crash risk," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    8. Chen, Zhongdong & Craig, Karen Ann, 2023. "Active attention, retail investor base, and stock returns," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    9. de Castro, Jessica & Piccoli, Pedro, 2023. "Do online searches actually measure future retail investor trades?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    10. Li, Yuze & Jiang, Shangrong & Li, Xuerong & Wang, Shouyang, 2021. "The role of news sentiment in oil futures returns and volatility forecasting: Data-decomposition based deep learning approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    11. Adekoya, Oluwasegun B. & Oliyide, Johnson A. & Saleem, Owais & Adeoye, Habeeb A., 2022. "Asymmetric connectedness between Google-based investor attention and the fourth industrial revolution assets: The case of FinTech and Robotics & Artificial intelligence stocks," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Ahundjanov, Behzod B. & Akhundjanov, Sherzod B. & Okhunjanov, Botir B., 2021. "Risk perception and oil and gasoline markets under COVID-19," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    13. Kostopoulos, Dimitrios & Meyer, Steffen & Uhr, Charline, 2022. "Ambiguity about volatility and investor behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(1), pages 277-296.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Individual investor; Trading behavior; Investor sentiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets
    • G50 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - General

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