Are tightened trading rules always bad? Evidence from the Chinese index futures market

This paper investigates the impact of tightened trading rules on the market efficiency and price discovery function of the Chinese stock index futures in 2015. The market efficiency and the price discovery of Chinese stock index futures do not deteriorate after these rule changes. Using variance ratio and spectral shape tests, we find that the Chinese index futures market becomes even more efficient after the tightened rules came into effect. Furthermore, by employing Schwarz and Szakmary [J. Futures Markets, 1994, 14(2), 147–167] and Hasbrouck [J. Finance, 1995, 50(4), 1175–1199] price discovery measures, we find that the price discovery function, to some extent, becomes better. This finding is consistent with Stein [J. Finance, 2009, 64(4), 1517–1548], who documents that regulations on leverage can be helpful in a bad market state, and Zhu [Rev. Financ. Stud., 2014, 27(3), 747–789.], who finds that price discovery can be improved with reduced liquidity. It also suggests that the new rules may effectively regulate the manipulation behaviour of the Chinese stock index futures market during a bad market state, and then positively affect its market efficiency and price discovery function.     

股指期货市场操纵与价格发现功能的关系研究

股指期货市场操纵会影响股指期货市场的价格发现功能,同样地,股指期货市场的价格发现功能也会影响股指期货市场的操纵行为。本文在理论探讨的基础上,利用股指期货主力合约及对应的沪深300指数高频数据对市场操纵行为进行实证分析。研究结果表明,当操纵嫌疑只存在于期货市场时,股指期货市场的价格发现功能将会减弱;当操纵嫌疑存在于期货、现货两个市场时,股指期货市场的价格发现功能相对会增强。而且,当股指期货市场价格发现功能较强时,市场操纵的难度和成本都将下降。当前中国股指期货市场的操纵行为可能主要局限于某些个别的、离散的交易日内,系统地通过操纵现货指数来操纵期货市场的可能性较低。     

中国股市涨跌停板对投资者交易行为的影响

利用A股市场的日内高频数据,研究我国股市涨跌停板制度是否存在"磁吸效应",从而判断涨跌停板的存在是否会影响投资者在面临个股较大涨跌幅时的交易行为.研究结果表明:一,我国A股市场涨跌停板的设定并不会导致投资者流动性风险的增加;二、投资者观察到股价大幅波动时会比较谨慎,涨跌停板的存在抑制了股价波动的进一步增大;三,临近收盘时,如果股价已下跌了较大的幅度,投资者的损失规避交易会造成股价的继续下跌.     

市场操纵的含义、认定及度量述评

市场操纵严重影响市场功能的发挥。认识操纵、监督操纵、处罚操纵并最终达到根治操纵,维护市场自由、有序与有效的目的是学界和监管层共同面临的一个十分紧迫而艰巨的任务。现有文献对市场操纵的含义、认定及度量做了大量研究,然而取得共识之处很少。通过述评并兼顾各家之长形成如下观点:市场操纵是指凡是为了私利而故意扭曲市场价格的行为。对操纵的认定应包含三个要件,即人为价格、疑似操纵行为与人为价格的因果关系以及操纵意图。对操纵的度量除了要考虑操纵行为对价格的直接与间接影响外,更重要的是考虑该行为对市场的危害大小。     

中国股票市场操纵对市场流动性的影响研究——基于收盘价操纵行为的识别与监测

基于收盘价操纵后股票价格的变动特征,本文构建了收盘价操纵行为的识别方法——尾市价格偏离模型,并利用中国股票市场的分时高频交易数据实现了可疑收盘价操纵行为的监测。进一步,本文采用面板数据回归实证分析了收盘价操纵影响市场流动性的方向、程度和机制。研究结果表明,收盘价操纵会导致股票交易成本上升和流动性下降,这种影响往往在股票市场处于震荡和下跌阶段时更为显著;同时,投资者报价策略趋于保守化是收盘价操纵对市场流动性产生影响的关键因素,而引发投资者调整报价策略的原因可能是股价波动加剧后订单非执行风险的降低。     

Capability satisficing in high frequency trading

This paper explains the capability theory of how HFT firms make allocation decisions under uncertainty, and shows how capability maximization is precisely consistent with utility theory. The issue, however, is how these firms actually make allocation decisions in practice. Using the Gioia methodology, this paper presents evidence from interviews with HFT professionals and specialist media that suggest that these firms are capability satisficers. Capability theory is also consistent with bounded rationality and the adaptive markets hypothesis, and defines the point at which these firms reach a satisfactory solution. Thus, capability reconciles mainstream theory and the more realistic, behavioral theories based on observation of industry practice. The methodology developed can be applied to any firm that makes algorithmic decisions under uncertainty.     

(How) has the market become more efficient?

Using a portfolio of Dow Jones Industrial Average index constituents and the index ETF, we document significant intraday deviations from the law of one price. These are especially pronounced at very short time intervals. The extent of deviations is related to volatility, liquidity, and transaction costs of both the index constituents and the ETF. Further, the influence of news arrival, and liquidity (volatility) shocks on the deviations persists for several hours. Finally, we document significant decline (by at least 80%) in the deviations between 1998 and 2010. We find that this decline is largely due to decimalization, the repeal of the uptick rule, and the introduction of automated updating of the NYSE order book. Overall, our findings indicate an increase in operational market efficiency.     

Intraday pairs trading strategies on high frequency data: the case of oil companies

This paper introduces novel ‘doubly mean-reverting’ processes based on conditional modelling of model spreads between pairs of stocks. Intraday trading strategies using high frequency data are proposed based on the model. This model framework and the strategies are designed to capture ‘local’ market inefficiencies that are elusive for traditional pairs trading strategies with daily data. Results from real data back-testing for two periods show remarkable returns, even accounting for transaction costs, with annualized Sharpe ratios of 3.9 and 7.2 over the periods June 2013–April 2015 and 2008, respectively. By choosing the particular sector of oil companies, we also confirm the observation that the commodity price is the main driver of the share prices of commodity-producing companies at times of spikes in the related commodity market.     

The Effect of Investor Sentiment on Feedback Trading and Trading Frequency: Evidence from Taiwan Intraday Data

Abstract

Although extensive literature has suggested that investor sentiment may be one of the most important factors in explaining investor trading frequency and trading strategies, how individual investors are significantly influenced by sentiment remains underexplored. The feature of numerous individual investors in the Taiwan stock market provides an avenue to examine the relationship of investor sentiment to trading frequency and positive-feedback trading according to intraday data. Using a vector autoregression model to measure feedback trading in one-minute intervals, we find that trading frequency appears to increase in periods of rising market, suggesting that investor sentiment–driven trading increases market trading frequency without relying on past experiences to conduct trading behavior.     

Price momentum in the New Zealand stock market: a proper accounting for transactions costs and risk*

We test for recently reported momentum profits in New Zealand using a practitioner technique that we have not yet seen in the academic literature. This technique simultaneously weighs returns, risk and transactions costs at each portfolio rebalance, rather than blindly chasing returns and then accounting for risk and transactions costs after the fact. We reverse the findings of the earlier literature because our gross profits are more than fully consumed once transactions costs are properly accounted for. Although we focus on momentum trading in New Zealand, our practitioner technique is broadly applicable to investigations of trading anomalies.     

Price impact and bursts in liquidity provision

This paper analyses brief episodes of high-intensity quote turnover and revision—‘bursts’ in quotes—in the US equity market. Such events occur very frequently, several hundred times a day for actively traded stocks. We find significant price impact associated with these market maker initiated events, about five times higher than during non-burst periods. Bursts in quotes are concurrent with short-lived structural breaks in the informational relationship between market makers and market takers. During bursts, market makers no longer passively impound information from order flow into quotes—a departure from the traditional market microstructure paradigm. Rather, market makers significantly impact prices during bursts in quotes. Further analysis shows that there is asymmetry in adverse selection between the bid and ask sides of the limit order book and only a sub-population of market makers enjoys an informational advantage during bursts. Market makers on the side opposite the burst suffer elevated adverse selection costs, while market makers on the side of the burst realize positive spread, irrespective of the order flow direction. Our results call attention to the need for a new microstructure perspective in understanding modern high-frequency limit order book markets and the quote manipulation strategies at the disposal of the fast market makers.     

Margin trading and price efficiency: information content or price-adjustment speed?

The literature offers contradictory views on the effect of margin-trading activities on price efficiency. Based on data from a Chinese margin-trading pilot programme in 2010, we separate price efficiency into information content and price-adjustment speed and investigate the effect of margin-trading activity on price efficiency. We find that after adding to the eligible list, pilot stocks experience a decrease in information content, but an increase in price-adjustment speed. Furthermore, increased margin-buying activities are associated with lower information content, but faster price adjustment. Our results reconcile the debate over the effect of margin trading on price efficiency.