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Time series momentum trading strategy and autocorrelation amplification

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  • K. J. Hong
  • S. Satchell

Abstract

This paper investigates why general Moving Average (MA) trading rules are widely used by technical analysts and others. We assume general stationary processes for prices and we derive the autocorrelation function for an MA trading rule. Based on our results, we conjecture that autocorrelation amplification is one of the reasons why such trading rules are popular. Using simulated results, we show that the MA rule may be popular because it can identify price momentum and is a simple way of assessing and exploiting the price autocorrelation structure without necessarily knowing its precise structure. This paper then, provides empirical evidence of autocorrelation amplification using 15-year daily price data for 11 major international stock indices.

Suggested Citation

  • K. J. Hong & S. Satchell, 2015. "Time series momentum trading strategy and autocorrelation amplification," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(9), pages 1471-1487, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:quantf:v:15:y:2015:i:9:p:1471-1487
    DOI: 10.1080/14697688.2014.1000951
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    3. Ni, Yensen & Liao, Yi-Ching & Huang, Paoyu, 2015. "MA trading rules, herding behaviors, and stock market overreaction," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 253-265.
    4. Svitlana Galeshchuk, 2017. "Technological bias at the exchange rate market," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2-3), pages 80-86, April.
    5. Hong, KiHoon & Wu, Eliza, 2016. "The roles of past returns and firm fundamentals in driving US stock price movements," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 62-75.
    6. Ben R. Marshall & Nhut H. Nguyen & Nuttawat Visaltanachoti, 2017. "Time series momentum and moving average trading rules," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 405-421, March.
    7. Ni, Yensen & Day, Min-Yuh & Huang, Paoyu & Yu, Shang-Ru, 2020. "The profitability of Bollinger Bands: Evidence from the constituent stocks of Taiwan 50," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 551(C).
    8. Day, Min-Yuh & Ni, Yensen, 2023. "The profitability of seasonal trading timing: Insights from energy-related markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    9. Mahsa Ghorbani & Edwin K P Chong, 2020. "Stock price prediction using principal components," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Valeriy Zakamulin & Javier Giner, 2020. "Trend following with momentum versus moving averages: a tale of differences," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(6), pages 985-1007, June.
    11. Kerstin Lamert & Benjamin R. Auer & Ralf Wunderlich, 2023. "Discretization of continuous-time arbitrage strategies in financial markets with fractional Brownian motion," Papers 2311.15635, arXiv.org.
    12. Strobel, Marcus & Auer, Benjamin R., 2018. "Does the predictive power of variable moving average rules vanish over time and can we explain such tendencies?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 168-184.

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