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Contagious margin calls: How COVID-19 threatened global stock market liquidity

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  • Foley, Sean
  • Kwan, Amy
  • Philip, Richard
  • Ødegaard, Bernt Arne

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused some of the largest – and fastest – market dislocations in modern history. During the outbreak, liquidity quickly evaporated in a coordinated fashion across global markets. We show that a sudden increase in margin requirements during the pandemic is correlated with the withdrawal of global liquidity providers. These effects are concentrated in securities most exposed to high-frequency market makers, consistent with the binding nature of increased capital constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • Foley, Sean & Kwan, Amy & Philip, Richard & Ødegaard, Bernt Arne, 2022. "Contagious margin calls: How COVID-19 threatened global stock market liquidity," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 59(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finmar:v:59:y:2022:i:pa:s1386418121000628
    DOI: 10.1016/j.finmar.2021.100689
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    6. Petar-Pierre Matek & Maša Galiæ, 2024. "The impact of designated market-makers on liquidity in frontier markets: Evidence from Zagreb and Ljubljana Stock Exchanges," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 42(1), pages 95-121.
    7. Liao Xu & Jilong Chen & Hao Xu, 2023. "Market sentiment to COVID‐19 and the Chinese stock market," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(S1), pages 1121-1135, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Margin requirements; Stock market liquidity; liquidity spiral;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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