Efficiency tests of the UK financial futures markets and the impact of electronic trading systems
Abstract
This paper undertakes tests for market efficiency of three UK financial futures contracts: FTSE100 futures (stock index futures), Long Gilt (bond futures), Short Sterling (interest rate futures) and also examines the impact of the introduction of electronic trading system on their market efficiency. The analysis is based on the notion of weak-form informational efficiency of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). For robustness, the study employs three test methods, ADF unit root test, KPSS test and Lo & MacKinlay Variance Ratio test, to investigate the randomness of the futures price fluctuation, which generally signifies market efficiency. Any evidence of market weak-form inefficiency implies that the futures prices do not follow a random walk process and the past price of the financial instrument can be used to forecast the futures price to obtain superior profit. The results show that the three markets under investigation are weak-form informational efficient. Before the introduction of electronic trading system, the UK bond futures market is relatively the most efficient among the three markets under investigation. After automation, the efficiency of FTSE100 futures contract improves to become the most efficient among the three markets under investigation.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Taylor and Francis Journals in its journal Applied Financial Economics.
Volume (Year): 16 (2006)
Issue (Month): 17 ()
Pages: 1273-1283
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Rompotis, Gerasimos G., 2011. "Testing weak-form efficiency of exchange traded funds market," MPRA Paper 36020, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Jian Zhang & Lee W. Sanning & Sherrill Shaffer, 2010. "Market Efficiency Test in the VIX Futures Market," CAMA Working Papers 2010-08, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
- Michael Ye & John Zyren & Joanne Shore & Thomas Lee, 2010. "Crude Oil Futures as an Indicator of Market Changes: A Graphical Analysis," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 257-268, August.
- Abdul Haque & Hung-Chun Liu & Fakhar-Un-Nisa, 2011. "Testing the Weak Form Efficiency of Pakistani Stock Market (2000–2010)," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 1(4), pages 153-162.
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