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Monthly Pattern and Portfolio Effect on Higher Moments of Stock Returns: Empirical Evidence from Hong Kong

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  • Gordon Tang

Abstract

Using a direct test, this paper studies the month-of-the-year effect on the higher moments of six industrial stock indices of the Hong Kong market. We also examine the portfolio effect on skewness and kurtosis across month of the year to see if such an anomaly exists. The empirical results support a weak month-of-the-year effect in higher moments of stock returns. Using a complete sample of all possible combinations for each portfolio size, we show that portfolio effect varies across month of the year for both skewness and kurtosis. In particular, our results show that diversification does not necessarily provide benefits to rational investors when the stock return distribution is non-normal, even though portfolio formation can reduce standard deviation. In June, August and October, diversification across industrial sectors results in a more negatively skewed and leptokurtic return distribution, which is not preferred by investors with risk-aversion. Two (one) possible explanations for the portfolio effect on skewness (kurtosis) are also provided. Our empirical results add new evidence to the existence of anomalies in the Hong Kong stock market. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1998

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  • Gordon Tang, 1998. "Monthly Pattern and Portfolio Effect on Higher Moments of Stock Returns: Empirical Evidence from Hong Kong," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 5(3), pages 275-307, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:apfinm:v:5:y:1998:i:3:p:275-307
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1010006209727
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    1. Stefanescu, Razvan & Dumitriu, Ramona, 2013. "MOY effects in returns and in volatilities of the Romanian capital market," MPRA Paper 52474, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 28 Oct 2013.
    2. Peter Hansen & Asger Lunde, 2003. "Testing the Significance of Calendar Effects," Working Papers 2003-03, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    3. Camilleri, Silvio John, 2008. "Month-Related Seasonality of Stock Price Volatility: Evidence from the Malta Stock Exchange," MPRA Paper 62493, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Dumitriu, Ramona & Nistor, Costel & Stefanescu, Razvan, 2009. "Changes in the monthly effects from the Romanian foreign exchange market," MPRA Paper 41743, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 May 2010.
    5. Ballestero, E. & Gunther, M. & Pla-Santamaria, D. & Stummer, C., 2007. "Portfolio selection under strict uncertainty: A multi-criteria methodology and its application to the Frankfurt and Vienna Stock Exchanges," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 181(3), pages 1476-1487, September.
    6. Galor, Oded & Moav, Omer & Vollrath, Dietrich, 2003. "Land Inequality and the Origin of Divergence and Overtaking in the Growth Process: Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 3817, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Stefanescu, Razvan & Dumitriu, Ramona, 2013. "Month-of-the-year effects on Romanian capital market before and after the adhesion to European Union," MPRA Paper 53069, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Apr 2013.

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