The "best" trading days this year might appear to
be everyday since the market has been sloping upward with little to stand in
its way. Of course, "best" is in the eye of the trader since
"best" can be defined as volatile, or trending in either direction. Even so, if you look at each day individually
since January through yesterday,
you can get a better idea about the market activity as it relates to gains,
losses, and price volatility for each of the six point five hours of trading
that occur five days per week.
The chart below, using S&P data, shows that the greatest average gains have
occurred on Friday and Tuesday; Monday has underperformed, and Wednesday appears
to be standing still with little change by the end of the trading day.
Now look at the day range for each day of the week.
This chart indicates which S&P days have the largest
percent intraday swings between the highs and lows of the day.
Comparing both charts, Wednesday shows the
greatest price swings during the day yet looking back on the first chart you can
see that all of that price volatility results in very little gain or loss
by the end of that day.
A more comprehensive year-by-year look (2008-2010) at the
daily price and volatility comparisons can be found
here.