Shares digital

The Super Bowl might not be of much interest to UK sports fans but if history is any guide investors would do well to take note, as it has proved a barometer to gauge what the next movements of the US and global stock markets will be.

This year’s contest, on Sunday 3 February, features the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. The Patriots are looking to clinch their fourth National Football League (NFL) championship in seven years. They are also looking to become the first team to end a season unbeaten since the 1972-73 Miami Dolphins.

Yet stock market players should be rooting for the Giants, who are 12-point underdogs with the bookies. The Giants come from the National Football Conference (NFC) and the Patriots from the other half of the NFL, the American Football Conference (AFC).

In a year when the NFC team has won, the Dow Jones Industrials has risen by an average of 14.5% and risen 19 times out of 22. When an AFC team has won, the Dow has risen by just 1.1% on average and risen just nine times out of 19.

Shares says: Start rooting for the underdog Giants.

by: Russ Mould