The best day to buy stocks

Remember the stock market from last year?  It seemed like every Monday was down, and stocks would come roaring back on Tuesday.  It got to be a joke, with Tuesday up repeatedly.  Tuesday wasn't down at all for the first half of the year.  Then we had a down Tuesday and no one said anything more about it.

Funny, after the first week of 2014, the only really good day was Tuesday, and everyone seemed to forget about last year.  But, should they have forgotten?  What really happened last year.

It turns out that Tuesday was a great day to invest in 2013.  But it wasn't the best day.  If you bought at the end of the previous day, your total returns for the year by day for the $SPY would have been:

Monday	-3.69
Tuesday	14.42
Wednesday	-1.12
Thursday	10.63
Friday	21.28

Yeah.  Under that scenario, Friday was the best day.  It wasn't up every day, but when it was, you made the most money. 

And what if you forgot to buy at the close?  What happened if you bought the open? And held to the next morning?

Monday	2.33
Tuesday	4.59
Wednesday	4.36
Thursday	10.44
Friday	17.24

Yep, once again, Friday was the best day to buy stocks.  It wasn't as consistent, but the bigger positive moves were made on Friday.  You would have made the most on a two day work week.  Of course, last year was so good, it didn't matter how much you invested.  Just not over the weekend.  

I can't say that 2014 will be as consistent.  But, tomorrow is Friday.  Are you buying?