Religious practices, fasting, and individuals’ trading behavior: a natural experiment

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of seasonality caused by fasting as a religious practice on trading activity. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an unbiased sample of daily trading by individuals and institutions on the Boursa Kuwait. The authors use panel data on trading activities and Tobit regression models to examine the effect of Muslims’ religious practice of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan on trading behavior. Findings The authors find that during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims’ religious practice of fasting leads to a decline in the frequency of both overall stock market trading and the ratio of individual trading volume to total trading volume. The authors find a significant decrease in individual buy-side trading as a proportion of total trading volume and simultaneously a significant increase in institutional buy-side trading. Practical implications This study’s findings have important implications for the main players in stock markets of countries with a Muslim majority. Market-makers should be aware of the significant increase in the proportion of institutional buy-side trading volume to total trading volume to minimize the cost of trading with better-informed traders (adverse selection). Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that investigates individuals’ trading activity during Ramadan.