Valentine's Day and Abnormal Returns in Southeast Asia

The market becomes inefficient as a result of market anomalies such as Valentine's Day, which creates positive emotions and leads investors to act irrationally when making decisions. These irrational actions result in fluctuations in stock prices, which offer investors opportunities for returns. This study aims to investigate the impact of Valentine's Day on market index returns in Southeast Asia from 2014 to 2024. The ARCH-GARCH (1,1) model was used in this study and the results indicate that Valentine's Day has an impact on market index returns in Southeast Asia (specifically Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore), but not in Indonesia, the Philippines, or Vietnam. These results suggest that investors who are influenced by positive emotions are more likely to feel optimistic when making risky decisions. Therefore, market anomalies like Valentine's Day can be used as a consideration for investors seeking abnormal stock returns.