The Effect of Option Trading on the Structure of Equity Bid/Ask Spreads

This paper investigates empirically the direct effect of option trading on the structure of costs that comprise the underlying equity bid-ask spread. Our results show that the spread declines over a 30-day period following initiation of option trading, but the decline vanishes when price, volume, and volatility effects are considered. Changes in the composition of the spread reflect primarily a reduction in adverse information costs. Additionally, consistent with previous research, we find significant transaction-type clustering in our intraday data.     

The Relationship Between Stock and Option Price Changes

This paper documents an important step in reconciling conflicting results by Manaster and Rendleman [16] and Stephan and Whaley [21] regarding price change relationships between options and their underlying stocks. Using recent advances in bi-directional causality testing and data sources available only fairly recently, statistical tests are conducted that mitigate the nonsynchroneity and bid-ask bias problems that may have affected the Manaster and Rendleman [16] study. Even with these adjustments, empirical results are consistent with Manaster and Rendleman [16], indicating that stock price changes adjust to lagged option price changes over two trading days. Moreover, results suggest that the causality is bi-directional.     

A transactions data analysis of intraday betas

Using a sample of 27 stocks from the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the years 1986–1992, we examine the equality of beta for individual firms during the trading day. Both alphas and betas are found to differ through the trading day. Evidence suggests these changes are systematic for individual stocks. Using the midday beta as the base, the number of rejections of beta equality follow a U-shaped pattern through the trading day, indicating the differing distributions (U-shaped patterns) for intraday returns are reflected in similar changes in beta. These results have implications for further developing and testing market microstructure models.