Stats Intraday and market microstructure Midday lull

US equity volume bottoms out at 12:48 New York

MeasureValue
Quietest minute of the US day12:48
Earliest trough, Wednesday12:46
Latest trough, Friday12:56
Trading minutes measured686,480
Instrument and windowSPY, 2 Jan 2008 to 31 Dec 2014

Source: Giudici and Hu, Intraday Patterns in the Trading Volume of the SPY ETF, International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol 10 No 9, Sep 2019.

US equity volume is heavy at the open and the close and thin in between. Across 686,480 trading minutes of SPY, the low point of the day averages 12:48 New York time, and 12:46 on a Wednesday. Volatility troughs there too.

12:48Quietest minute
686,480Minutes measured
3.11%Closing auction, 2010
9.44%Closing auction, Q2 2024

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