Analysis of the Effect of the Anchoring Behavioral Heuristic in the Brazilian Stock Market

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e15164

Keywords:

behavioral finance, heuristics, anchoring, financial market

Abstract

This study analyzes the presence and effect of the anchoring behavioral heuristic on stock trading in the Brazilian stock exchange during the 2017-2020 period. To this end, a panel data estimation model was applied to a group of fifty stocks from the Bovespa Index. Using two dummy variables representing the surpassing of the 52-week high and low price levels, the hypothesis that past prices influence agents' decision-making—altering the trading volume relative to expectations—was tested. It was identified that after surpassing maximum price levels, atypical volume tended to decrease, while falling below minimum levels led to an increase in this variable. Thus, the results validate the premises of behavioral finance theory and the anchoring heuristic, as they show that investors use certain price levels as anchors to make decisions regarding the buying and selling of assets. The presence of anchoring demonstrates that investors are motivated by factors that are not necessarily relevant to the correct valuation of these assets' value, leaving them susceptible to errors, which results in performance inferior to what the market offers in a given period.

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Author Biographies

Samuel Roveda Astolfi de Matos, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Graduate in Economics from the Federal University of Santa Maria.

 

Reisoli Bender Filho, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Graduate in Economics from the University of Santa Cruz do Sul (2003), Master's in Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (2006), and PhD in Applied Economics from the Federal University of Viçosa (2011). He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and International Relations, serving as a permanent faculty member in the Graduate Program in Public Organizations Management.

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Published

2025-12-19

How to Cite

MATOS, Samuel Roveda Astolfi de; BENDER FILHO, Reisoli. Analysis of the Effect of the Anchoring Behavioral Heuristic in the Brazilian Stock Market. Journal of Administrative Sciences, [S. l.], v. 31, p. 1–14, 2025. DOI: 10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e15164. Disponível em: https://ojs.unifor.br/rca/article/view/15164. Acesso em: 8 aug. 2026.

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