Persistence probabilities of the German DAX and Shanghai Index

We present a relatively detailed analysis of the persistence probability distributions in financial dynamics. Compared with the auto-correlation function, the persistence probability distributions describe dynamic correlations nonlocal in time. Universal and non-universal behaviors of the German DAX and Shanghai Index are analyzed, and numerical simulations of some microscopic models are also performed. Around the fixed point z0=0, the interacting herding model produces the scaling behavior of the real markets.