The data shows you'll make more money in the stock market if you invest around the "new moon".. WHAT!!

I know how ridiculous this sounds.

We've all spent years looking at:

..Technical Analysis

..Fundamental Analysis

..Economic data

..Earnings reports

..Fed policy

Market sentiment

But what if there's an entirely different variable that almost nobody pays attention to?

I recently came across research suggesting that over long periods of market history, returns during the days surrounding a new moon were significantly stronger than returns during the days surrounding a full moon.

Apparently this effect has been observed across multiple countries and decades of data.

Now before anyone says "astrology for traders"...

I'm not claiming the moon predicts SPY.

What I'm asking is whether markets are more behavioral than we think.

We already accept that:

Mondays behave differently than Fridays

January behaves differently than other months

Elections impact sentiment

Holidays impact volume

Weather impacts mood and decision making

If markets are ultimately driven by millions of humans making decisions, why is it impossible that biological or psychological cycles could influence risk-taking at the margin?

Most traders spend their entire careers studying price, volume, earnings, rates, and macroeconomics.

Very few look for patterns outside traditional finance.

Maybe this is pure data mining.

Maybe it's a coincidence.

Or maybe there are still market anomalies hiding in plain sight that nobody takes seriously because they sound too strange.

Serious question:

If this study had been presented as a quantitative factor without mentioning the moon, would traders evaluate it differently?

Interested to hear what the quants, TA traders, and long-term investors think.

Is this nonsense, or is it worth investigating further?