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Comovement revisited

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  • Chen, Honghui
  • Singal, Vijay
  • Whitelaw, Robert F.

Abstract

Evidence of excessive comovement among stocks following index additions (Barberis, Shleifer, and Wurgler, 2005) and stock splits (Green and Hwang, 2009) challenges traditional finance theory. We show that the bivariate regressions in this literature provide little information about the economic magnitude of excess comovement, with coefficients that are sensitive to unrelated factors. Using robust univariate regressions and matched control samples, almost all evidence of excess comovement disappears. In both examples, the stocks exhibit strong returns prior to the event, akin to momentum winners. We document that winner stocks exhibit increases in betas, generating much of the apparent excess comovement.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Honghui & Singal, Vijay & Whitelaw, Robert F., 2016. "Comovement revisited," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 624-644.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:121:y:2016:i:3:p:624-644
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.05.007
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Chen, Xiaomeng Charlene, 2023. "Strategic deviation and idiosyncratic return volatility," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    3. Hameed, Allaudeen & Xie, Jing, 2019. "Preference for dividends and return comovement," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(1), pages 103-125.
    4. Raffestin, Louis, 2017. "Do bond credit ratings lead to excess comovement?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 41-55.
    5. Hollstein, Fabian & Prokopczuk, Marcel & Wese Simen, Chardin, 2019. "Estimating beta: Forecast adjustments and the impact of stock characteristics for a broad cross-section," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 91-118.
    6. Li, Mingyi & Yin, Xiangkang & Zhao, Jing, 2020. "Does program trading contribute to excess comovement of stock returns?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 257-277.
    7. Seo, Sung Won & Lee, Jong Hwa, 2023. "Peer effect on dividends and return comovement," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Benjamin Blau & Todd Griffith & Ryan Whitby, 2020. "Comovement in the Cryptocurrency Market," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(1), pages 448-455.
    9. Broman, Markus S., 2020. "Local demand shocks, excess comovement and return predictability," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. Cathcart, Lara & El-Jahel, Lina & Evans, Leo & Shi, Yining, 2019. "Excess comovement in credit default swap markets: Evidence from the CDX indices," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 96-120.
    11. Do, Hung X. & Nguyen, Nhut H. & Nguyen, Quan M.P., 2022. "Multinationals and stock return comovement," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    12. Grégoire, Vincent, 2020. "The rise of passive investing and index-linked comovement," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    13. Liao, Yixin & Coakley, Jerry & Kellard, Neil, 2022. "Index tracking and beta arbitrage effects in comovement," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    14. Do, Hung X. & Nguyen, Nhut H. & Nguyen, Quan M.P., 2022. "Financial leverage and stock return comovement," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    15. Galvani, Valentina, 2022. "Country-Based Investing with Exchange Rate and Reserve Currency," Working Papers 2022-5, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
    16. Hongfei Tang & Kangzhen Xie & Xiaoqing Eleanor Xu, 2022. "Real estate as a new equity market sector: Market responses and return comovement," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(2), pages 431-467, June.
    17. Parsley, David & Popper, Helen, 2020. "Return comovement," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    18. Benjamin Bennett & René M. Stulz & Zexi Wang, 2020. "Does Joining the S&P 500 Index Hurt Firms?," NBER Working Papers 27593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Market efficiency; Nonfundamental comovement; Asset class demand; Time-varying betas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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