It's getting very near the end as some obscure pop group once sang.  The interesting thing about Friday is that it does have a unique historic reputation regarding market activity.  Friday is pegged as the only day of the week that is a net loser in the market.  Years ago, you could sell the S&Ps on the open and buy them back on the close as surely as you could do the exact opposite on Monday.

But again, as the idea became a little too publicized, the tendency evaporated�"even reversed depending on the time frame.  My partner and I have asked ourselves many times in many months�"“Whatever happened to the Friday melt?  When's the last time we've had one?”

Again, we favor symmetrical ideas, so you can sell some Fridays…and buy others.  It's back to the Wednesday idea�"fade whatever was the biggest move in the week�"up or down.  Now we're looking at four days rather than Wednesday's two, which makes sense.

Here are the results of fading on Friday the greatest move from that week.  The following is the last five years of data when opening a position at Friday's open and closing the position at Friday's close.

Art Collins is the author of Market Beaters, a collection of interviews with renowned mechanical traders. He is currently working on a second volume. E-mail Art at artcollins@ameritech.net.