It’s a theory. A real stretch of a theory, too. But maybe not. All these years investors/traders have blamed summer for subdued and lackluster trading. Summer may be getting a bum rap. Let’s blame Texas.
To be sure, really REALLY sure, summer does come to the Lone Star State (like, 95-100 degrees and humid) but so does business. Big business. Corporations large and small. Even a brand new shiny stock exchange. Yup, say “Howdy” to the just announced Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) scheduled to launch in 2026. Oh, and just like any type of business, there is a lot of work and preparation to get done. So perhaps there are so many businesses and people moving to Texas, they don’t have time to trade in the financial markets. Hence, slow markets.
Now with that kind of reasoning (odd as it is), it may be safe to say that all that moving to Texas the past few years has subdued a lot of the trading/investing at certain times of the year. I mean, nobody moves in the winter (or Fall and not so much in the Spring either). But once settled into, say Dallas, a lot of these new businesses and people will be looking to invest in “local” companies. The TXSE defines everything from Texas to Florida to Tennessee as a “local region.” So all the TXSE will have to say is “Howdy neighbor, lets list your company right here in Big D.” Instant success and bye bye NYSE and NASDAQ. (ICE, cBOE and CME Group next?)
While we are blaming Texas for summer market doldrums in the financial markets let’s also give “Big Tex” credit for being a hotbed for innovation. And fun. Ever been to SXSW? Well, don’t miss the AI Corral in Arlington during T/OU week in October. Which means that we can blame Texas for ANY slow trading/investing time ‘year round.’ Nothing like a good scapegoat, right?