U.S. corporate bond returns: A study of market anomalies based on broad industry groups

We examine three major U.S. corporate bond market indices for calendar-based anomalies over the period 1982-2002. The analysis covers the entire corporate bond market and two broad industry classes: industrials and utilities. We find mixed support for the weekend effect in the overall bond index and the industrials index and to a lesser extent in the utilities index. We also show strong evidence of a January effect. This paper not only updates the study of corporate bond market anomalies through the period 2002 but also is the first examination based on broad industry classes.