A q-spin Potts model of markets: Gain-loss asymmetry in stock indices as an emergent phenomenon

Abstract

Spin models of markets inspired by physics models of magnetism, as the Ising model, allow for the study of the collective dynamics of interacting agents in a market. The number of possible states has been mostly limited to two (buy or sell) or three options. However, herding effects of competing stocks and the collective dynamics of a whole market may escape our reach in the simplest models. Here I study a q-spin Potts model version of a simple Ising market model to represent the dynamics of a stock market index in a spin model. As a result, a self-organized gain-loss asymmetry in the time series of an index variable composed of stocks in this market is observed.