Sporting performance and the Canadian stock market

Focusing on the relationship between sporting performance and national stock markets, this research takes a behavioral finance approach in an attempt to explain stock price movements. Motivated by Boyle and Walter (2003), who studied the New Zealand stock market and the All-Blacks Rugby team, a similar approach is used to capture any effect from Canadian National Hockey League team games – against U.S. teams – on the Canadian stock market through investor sentiment. The primary analysis finds no results statistically significant from zero, indicating that stock returns are independent from the performance of Canadian hockey teams. However, by performing the analysis on the day of the Canadian game results, statistically significant results are found, although they contradict theory.