The short-term mean reversion of stock price and the change in trading volume

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effect of change in trading volume on the short-term mean reversion of the stock price in the Korean stock market. Through the variance ratio test, this paper finds that the market shows the mean reversion pattern after 2000, but not before. This study also confirms that the mean reversion property is significantly reduced if the effect of change in trading volume is excluded from the return of a stock with a significant contemporaneous correlation between return and change in trading volume in the post-2000 market. The results appear in both the Korea Composite Stock Price Index and Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotation. This phenomenon stems from the significance of the return response to change in trading volume per se and not the sign of the response. Additionally, the findings imply that the trading volume has a term structure because of the mean reversion of the trading volume and the return also has a partial term structure because of the contemporaneous correlation between return and change in trading volume. This conclusion suggests that considering the short-term impact of change in trading volume enables a more efficient observation of the market and avoidance of asset misallocation.